Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts
by Kazix
Summary: Kagome and Sango never thought stealing a small jewel would change their lives, but they're proven wrong as a series of crazy events leads our favorite gang on a grand adventure where they must face their greatest foe yet. InuKag MirSan
1. Soul Stealing

AN: Hiya guys, I'm kyuuka-kitsune!! This is my first fic, so I hope it's good! Any and all suggestions are welcome as well. I just had a burst of inspiration and had to write. Please, review, it will help me make this fic and future ones better. Ok? Ok!  
  
Disclaimer: This is the part where I bore you by telling you that I do not own any Inuyasha characters. But of course, you already knew that, being the Inuyasha fans that you are. Because you already know they belong to Rumiko Takahashi.  
  
**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**  
  
**Chapter 1: Soul Stealing  
**  
----Kagome's POV----  
  
Kagome walked into the mall feeling a bit nervous. She didn't know why; her and Sango had done this a million times before and it hadn't once failed...but for some reason, this time was different. She sighed and lowered head trying to figure it out.  
  
Sango heard her friend sigh next to her. 'Uh-oh, she must be having second thoughts. But wait, that's not like Kagome. And nothing has ever gone wrong in the past...so something big must be going on.'  
  
"Kagome, what's wrong?"  
  
Kagome lifted her head quickly, realizing that her best friend could always tell when something was wrong. She turned to face her and gave her a big smile, "Oh, it's nothing; I just have a weird feeling, that's all Sango."  
  
Sango looked at her life-long friend in shock. "But Kagome, you know we've done this a million times and nothing EVER goes wrong, why would something bad happen today?"  
  
Kagome shrugged, "I don't know, I guess I'm just being paranoid. I mean, eventually we're bound to get caught, right?"  
  
"Don't say that, as long as we lie low and keep it to a minimum, we're fine. Remember, we're not doing this as a favor to ourselves...more like a favor to our parents."  
  
"Our parents?" Kagome raised an eyebrow in question.  
  
"Yeah, because they always have to support us. Well, now they don't." Sango gave her a victorious grin, like she'd just exterminated a youkai or something.  
  
"I suppose you're right, let's do this!" Kagome proclaimed with new enthusiasm. Sango was right, after all. Their parents weren't very well off, so they were doing a good thing...right? Right!  
  
----Inuyasha's POV----  
  
He stood behind the counter, tapping his fingers against the countertop. He sighed for the umpteenth time that day. 'Soooooo boooooored...' were his thoughts as he shifted his amber eyes about the room, studying everyone that came in and left. He didn't know why he kept the job, probably because he needed money...bad. He looked at the store across from where he was currently standing and looked longingly in the window display. The sword was still there. 'Good,' he thought, 'I can still get it. Isn't today pay day?' He glanced back at the calendar behind him and saw multiple black 'X's on the days gone by and a big red circle around one day which signified pay day. He inspected it closer and saw that today was indeed pay day.  
  
"Inuyasha!"  
  
Inuyasha jumped slightly. 'Damn hat, damn Miroku,' he cursed as he absently adjusted the hat that covered his ears. He refused to turn around. "I told you, Miroku. Don't. Do. That!! With this hat covering my ears, I can't hear as well as when it's off, so I can't hear your footsteps."  
  
"I apologize, Inuyasha, but you need to pay attention to the customers."  
  
"You're not my boss, so quit telling me what to do!"  
  
"You're forgetting who got you this job, aren't you?"  
  
"Feh!"  
  
"Inuyasha, you know how the manager feels about...well...youkai and hanyou. If he ever found out, you'd be fired in an instant, so you have to keep the hat. He's already suspicious enough with those claws and fangs of yours."  
  
Inuyasha finally turned around to face his best friend. "Feh!" was his only reply as he crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
Miroku sighed. 'Inuyasha will never change.' "I have to go finish stocking the shelves. Just make sure you behave yourself." He turned and began walking when he heard Inuyasha emit a low growl and start mumbling about "stupid humans...weaklings...think they're strong..." Miroku smirked to himself, 'No, Inuyasha would never change.' He then disappeared into the store room.  
  
Inuyasha saw Miroku enter the store room out of the corner of his eye. As soon as he was out of sight, the silver-haired hanyou gazed longingly at the sword, Tetsusaiga...again. That is, until his gaze was crossed by 2 girls coming into the shop. He only glanced at them briefly before looking back to the sword shop.  
  
----Kagome & Sango's POV----  
  
They finally reached the shop they were looking for. They liked this shop because it had tons of stuff, from jewelry to room decorating items. They especially liked the big dragons used for decorations that hung from the ceiling. They came to an area that wasn't too crowded and pretended to look at jewelry, when really, they were observing everyone and everything around them.  
  
Kagome noticed the guy behind the counter. He looked to be about a year older than her. He had silver hair and amber eyes and wasn't paying attention to anything happening in the store. She looked around for customers but was surprised when she didn't see any. This would make things a little harder, but she knew they could pull it off...they always did.  
  
Sango shifted her eyes about the store. She had already noticed the guy behind the counter as they came in. She even got a peek of his name badge, although she could only read the first part of it. She had read "Inu-" before she focused on something else. His name wasn't important. In fact, he was probably the least of their worries. He wasn't paying attention to them, so that was an advantage. All of a sudden, she heard a door open and looked over to see what it was.  
  
The store room door opened and out came a man with short, black hair tied back in a ponytail and violet eyes carrying a couple of boxes. When she saw him look at her, she looked away immediately, her cheeks slightly flushed. But what horrified her more was that he had put the boxes down and was walking in their direction. She nudged Kagome and they both turned to stare at the man advancing towards them.  
  
"Hello, ladies!" he greeted them with a wave of his hand as he reached them.  
  
"Uh...hi," Kagome responded.  
  
Neither was prepared for what was to happen next. The man kneeled down on one knee and grabbed Sango's hands in his and took in a deep breath and asked in his most innocent-sounding voice, "Will you bear my child?"  
  
Sango's face turned bright red as she retracted her right hand, pulled it back and slapped him across the face...hard, leaving a bright red handprint. "HENTAI!!" she screamed.  
  
Kagome saw out of the corner of her eye as the man behind the counter walked over to see what the commotion was.  
  
"Miroku, I thought I told you that 'the question' is bad for your health? Don't you ever listen!?" shouted the man at this 'Miroku' lying unconscious on the floor. "Answer me, lecher!" he shouted again as picked up 'Miroku' by his shirt and shook him. Finally realizing that he wasn't going to gain consciousness anytime soon, he dropped him unceremoniously back to the ground. He then turned to Sango and Kagome.  
  
"Sorry about him, he's kinda stupid," explained the man. At hearing the 'kinda stupid' comment, Miroku made a gurgling sound signifying he was slowly gaining consciousness. The girls looked at him and took 2 giant steps backwards, not wanting to be near this perverted excuse for a guy. They then turned back to the silver-haired man, but to their surprise, he wasn't there. They glanced around, realizing he had gone back to his former spot at the counter.  
  
Kagome glanced at Sango giving her a 'it's now or never' look and Sango nodded understandingly. The two split up and started looking around. Kagome had been right when she thought this time was different. It was. This time, they were looking for something special...the Shikon no Tama, the jewel of four souls. Kagome had been looking at a jewelry rack when she caught a glimpse of pink light in a bucket labeled '10% DISCOUNT'. She searched through it and scoffed. There it was, the Shikon no Tama, in a discount bin. The baka that put it there must not have realized its value. Heck, even she didn't know what it truly was, but she knew it was worth a lot if they sold it on the black market.  
  
She clutched it in her hand, noticing how pure it seemed surrounded by all the pink light. She walked over to Sango and tapped her on the shoulder. Sango turned around and Kagome threw her a smirk that said 'let's go'. Sango's eyes widened. She hadn't expected to find it so easily, but hey, who cares. Sango smiled back as she prepared herself for what she about to do. But as she was drawing in deep breaths, she noticed a certain hentai stand up and walk towards the counter, initiating a conversation with the other man.  
  
'Oh no,' she groaned, 'now I have to distract both of them!' She shot a 'help me' glance at Kagome who shot her back a pitying look but then lowered her head. Sango knew she had to do it alone. They had always done it that way. It was practiced to perfection. They couldn't just change it! She sighed as she grabbed a random piece of jewelry and walked up to the counter.  
  
Kagome watched her friend walk to the counter with a bold look of determination set on her face. Kagome waited for the signal before she acted. She watched as she set the piece of jewelry on the counter. But instead of the silver-haired man helping her, the pervert from before rung up her total. The silver-haired man just leaned against the counter looking out of the shop. She turned her attention back to Sango and 'Miroku'. Kagome went through the motions in her head as Sango acted them out perfectly. She searched through all her pockets, not finding any money, as planned. She faked a look of disappointment and this was Kagome's signal.  
  
She shoved the Shikon no Tama in her pocket, making sure no one noticed. She then watched as Sango just waved the jewelry away as she said a goodbye. And then it happened. 'Miroku' had somehow managed to creep his arm around the counter and grabbed Sango's rear end while the silver-haired man quickly focused his attention on Kagome, looking at her as if she had done something wrong. Then Sango smacked this 'Miroku' over the head with Hirakaitsu (sp?) that she always had on her back, even if she did look out of place and screamed "HENTAI!!!" again while Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Kagome. 'Something's not right,' Kagome thought, 'that guy knows what we're doing! Why else would he be staring at me like a piece of meat!' Kagome walked up to Sango and grabbed her arm, intent on pulling her out of the shop, but 'silver-hair' had a different agenda. He stepped over the unconscious body of 'Miroku' and grabbed Kagome's wrist.  
  
"You wench, what's your name?" he ordered gruffly.  
  
Kagome tried pulling her hand away, but realized he was too strong and opted to answer his question. "Well, it certainly isn't 'wench'! If you must know, my name is Kagome! Ka-Go-Me!!" she practically screamed in his sensitive ears. Luckily, he had his hat on.  
  
"Feh, whatever, wench."  
  
Kagome felt the blood inside her boil as she finally managed to free her poor wrist. "Well, what's your name, Mr. High and Mighty?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
He grumbled a bit before answering her question softly. "Inuyasha," was his simple answer.  
  
"Well, my friend and me are going to be late for something, so we're going now," she said hurriedly as she softly pushed him aside and left, dragging her friend behind, who was so intent on killing this 'Miroku' fellow that she hadn't even realized that Inuyasha had almost stopped them.  
  
Kagome continued dragging her friend a good distance before they reached the food court. She then sat at a table and Sango sat across from her, still mumbling about "perverted men...kill them all..." Kagome shook her head in amusement and cleared her throat, breaking Sango's thoughts, which included a certain hentai and a rather large chainsaw.  
  
Sango looked up at Kagome who had a big smile across her face. This annoyed Sango. She had just been groped by a stupid hentai, and her best friend was smiling!?  
  
"What are you smiling about?" she asked grumpily.  
  
Kagome just dug around in her pocket and pulled out a bright pink ball connected to a chain. Sango's face softened in awe as she admired its beauty.  
  
"We...got it? We finally got it?!"  
  
Kagome just nodded her head, smile still in place. Then they both jumped up and hugged each other, let go, and started to do their victory dance, ignoring the stares from passersby.  
  
They finally finished and sat down. Kagome scrutinized the jewel she held in her hand.  
  
"Hey Sango, maybe we should do some more research on this thing. I mean, it doesn't look normal."  
  
Sango nodded her head in agreement. And for the first time that day, they both relaxed, thinking about their little victory.

Well, how'd you like it? Remember, this is kyuuka-kitsune's first fic, so play nice. Ok, never mind, flame if ya like too, and give me some suggestions to make it better, kay? Okey day! I'm not sure how long I'm gonna take to update. I gotta think of something else to happen first. I already know one part that's definitely goin in there, next chapter, probably. If you figure out the meaning behind the title of my story, I'll give you...a cookie!! They're good!! But ya better hurry; otherwise I'll eat them all!! Mmmmm, cookies!! Hit the button in the bottom left that says review! WHY? COZ I SAID SO!!!! Please? Tank ya! 


	2. Chopstick Chivalry

AN: Here's the 2nd chappie. Guess what? I have 2 reviews!! Kyuuka is so happy!! Hehe, I love my reviewers! Muah!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I'm not disclaimin nothing! Wait, where are you taking my ramen noodles?! You can't do this to me!!! Gimme ramen!!! FINE!!! -sigh- kyuuka-kitsune does NOT own Inuyasha...at all. Yay, Ramen!!!! Mmmmm....  
  
**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**  
  
**Chapter 2: Chopstick Chivalry  
**  
Inuyasha stared after the retreating girls. 'Kagome, huh. I could've mistaken her for Kikyou. I wonder if they're related.' Inuyasha's thoughts were interrupted by a loud groan coming from the man on the ground. Inuyasha looked over at him, and looked at his watch.  
  
"We've only been open for 2 ½ hours and you already got knocked out twice, Miroku."  
  
"Ah, but it was worth it..." Miroku replied, slurring his words signifying he wasn't fully conscious yet.  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be a monk in training or something?"  
  
Miroku sighed. "Yes, but only because it's in my blood. All the men in our family have trained long years at becoming a powerful monk. Remember we still have to defeat Naraku's gang. You know how he tricked both of us..." Miroku suddenly looked up to find Inuyasha gone.  
  
"Inuyasha?" he glanced around the room and found the hanyou digging through a discount bucket.  
  
"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" he asked the startled hanyou with a raised eyebrow.  
  
The hanyou turned his head and had a look of disbelief on his face. "The Shikon no Tama...is...it's gone!"  
  
Miroku developed a startled look and accusingly asked, "What was it doing in a bargain bin!?"  
  
The next emotion to cross Inuyasha's face was guilt. "Well, I sort of put it there for safe keeping..." His voice trailed off as he suddenly found the ground very interesting.  
  
"What's so safe about a bargain bin!?" shrieked the monk-in-training.  
  
Inuyasha raised his head and glared daggers at his friend and shouted, "How was I supposed to know people actually went through those stupid bins!? I mean, what kind of baka would want this crappy jewelry!?"  
  
Their 'conversation' was interrupted by loud "AHEM!" Inuyasha and Miroku turned their heads towards the sound verrrrrrrrry slowly with wide eyes. Standing there was a very angry looking plump man with a big bushy yet curly mustache, eyebrows twitching, arms folded over his chest and tapping his foot. They could just imagine smoke coming out of his ears as he yelled, "WHAT are you two doing STANDING around doing NOTHING but ARGUING?!?!?"  
  
Both Inuyasha and Miroku flinched as he started yelling, spit flying everywhere. When he had finished, Inuyasha wiped his face with his hand, just to get on the man's nerves. When he saw the man's eyes widen, he smirked and replied, "We were just having a contest to see who could scream the loudest, but I apologize...we should have invited you, you would have won."  
  
The man looked like he was about to rip the hanyou's head off, but instead, opted for the next best thing. "YOU'RE FIRED!!!!"  
  
Inuyasha responded by crossing his arms over his chest, looking away and saying "Feh!" With that said, he walked off, taking off his hat in the process. When the man saw Inuyasha's ears, he became even more enraged and Inuyasha could hear as Miroku tried to no avail to calm the man down. Instead of becoming calm, the man turned on Miroku, grabbing the front of his shirt and yelling in his face, "YOU'RE FIRED TOO!!!!" Miroku pulled away from the man's grasp and ran to catch up with Inuyasha.  
  
Inuyasha looked over at his friend. If looks could kill, Inuyasha would have turned to ashes long ago and he flinched. He'd never seen Miroku glare at him like that. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Inuyasha, you baka, you just got me fired!!"  
  
"Feh, it's not my fault the man's an idiot. We can get a better job than that, and you know it, Miroku."  
  
Miroku sighed. He knew his friend was right. They were very talented, strong, and smart. Inuyasha might be a bit stubborn, but some managers saw that as a plus. Miroku on the other hand was a very good liar and was amazingly good-looking (or so he thought). They could easily get another job just as good, if not better. That's when he noticed Inuyasha had stopped walking and stood rooted to the spot a few feet back. Miroku back-tracked and stared quizzically at Inuyasha.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"The Shikon no Tama," he whispered, as if out of breath.  
  
Miroku mentally slapped himself. Of course, that's what they had been arguing about before their boss had come over and fired them. Miroku developed a look of skepticism as he asked, "But how did it get out of the store?"  
  
Inuyasha shook his head and replied, "I would've noticed if someone had been buying it."  
  
Miroku nodded, "I would have as well. But if nobody bought it, then...how..." He stopped mid-sentence as a thought struck him. "Inuyasha, nobody bought the Shikon no Tama, right?"  
  
Inuyasha nodded, not getting where Miroku was going with this.  
  
"Well, if nobody bought it, how else could it get up and walk out of the store."  
  
Inuyasha scoffed, "It didn't grow legs, Miroku, don't be stupid!"  
  
Miroku lowered his head and shook it in disbelief at his friend's stupid manner. "Inuyasha, someone stole it," he put in simple terms that he knew the hanyou would understand. The realization his Inuyasha like a stone in the head when Miroku said it was stolen.  
  
"The girls..." he growled. It was the only logical explanation, and it was perfect. The girl with the giant boomerang distracted them by trying to buy a piece of jewelry and not having any money while the other girl, what was her name again, oh yeah, Kagome stuck the jewel in her pocket. Neither Inuyasha nor Miroku had been paying attention to her while the boomerang girl was looking for money. Inuyasha growled low in his throat.  
  
"We have to get it back."  
  
Miroku nodded. The Shikon no Tama was very important, to both of them. Although, it had more sentimental value to Inuyasha than anything. "They can't have gone very far, they only left about 15 minutes ago."  
  
"Let's split up, you take down there, and I'll go this way. We'll meet back up at the food court in a half hour." With that said, they raced around the mall, searching for the 2 elusive girls.  
  
----The 2 'elusive' girls----  
  
Before researching the Shikon no Tama, Kagome and Sango set out to get food. After arguing over whether to get food at McDonald's or Chik-Fil-A, they decided on Sarku Japan. After ordering their food, they sat down at the table they'd been at before and wolfed down their food. Kagome finished first and eyed Sango's hungrily. Sango noticed her looking at her food with a weird glint in her eye and pulled the plate closer to her and blocked it from Kagome's view with her arm. Kagome picked up her chopsticks and hold them out, like she was preparing for battle. Sango got the hint and picked up her chopsticks as well, holding them similar to how Kagome held hers. They then started sword fighting using their chopsticks. Sango knew winner would take all and she wasn't about to give her food up that easily.  
  
"HA!" Sango shouted as she broke Kagome's first chopstick. Kagome looked at her broken chopstick like she was about to cry, but quickly got back in the game, still having one chopstick left. After about 2 minutes of struggling, Kagome finally managed to break one of Sango's chopsticks. Sango stared in disbelief at her broken chopstick but her expression quickly changed to determination and this scared Kagome. She knew when Sango had that look, things could get pretty nasty. Sango jumped up from her chair, surprising Kagome, but she jumped up too. Soon people began to stare at the odd girls fighting with chopsticks. They started to circle around the table, watching the opponent carefully scrutinizing their every move. Sango made the first move, catching Kagome by surprise and as a result, she didn't have time to block and was hit on top of her head. She quickly recovered and lashed back, catching Sango's left hand.  
  
"Touché!" Sango smirked, "But let's see how you like this!" With that, Sango swung her chopstick like a sword into Kagome's and she watched as it broke into 2.  
  
"NOOOO!!!!" Kagome yelled as she fell to her knees, arms outstretched to the ceiling, as she looked up. Sango gave an evil laugh but then she realized something and she too fell to her knees, looking at her chopstick in regret. Kagome saw this and crawled over to her and poked her arm. Sango looked up.  
  
"What's wrong, Sango?"  
  
Sango started sniffling as she held up her chopstick. "I only have 1 chopstick left."  
  
Kagome raised an eyebrow in confusion. "And?"  
  
"And you need 2 to eat with!" she cried out.  
  
Kagome realized her plight and sympathized with her friend, patting her on the back. "There, there, Sango, it's ok. Wait here, I'll be right back." That said, Kagome walked off, leaving Sango to stare at her chopstick. Kagome returned a minute later, her hands behind her back.  
  
"Sango, I've got something for you!"  
  
Sango raised her head. "For me?"  
  
Kagome nodded and gave a big smile as she showed Sango what she had behind her back. Sango gasped as Kagome handed them to her.  
  
"Kagome, you're the best ever!" she said as she gave her a big hug. She quickly released her hold and sat down at the table again, taking the set of chopsticks Kagome had given her out and quickly finished her food. Sango set down her chopsticks and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed and a smile on her content face. Kagome sat down across from her and just giggled. Sango opened one eye.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"I was just thinking about that Miroku guy back at the store."  
  
This caused Sango to open both eyes and a frown to appear on her once content face. "Don't tell me you like him, Kagome!"  
  
Kagome only laughed harder which made Sango's frown deepen. "What in the world is so funny!?"  
  
Kagome shook her head. "No, I don't like him. I was thinking about the question he asked you."  
  
Sango's face turned a bright red. She almost forgot about that...'almost'. "What about it!?" Sango asked, glaring at her.  
  
Kagome knew when she stepped over her limits, and she knew that now was a good time to keep her mouth shut. "Nothing! Never mind, it was nothing!"  
  
This seemed to satisfy Sango as she smirked. Her smirk quickly disappeared though and was replaced with a look of worry and she seemed to look at something behind Kagome. Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and slowly turned her head. Her eyes widened as she spotted the 2 guys from the shop stare at them and begin to make their way over to them. Sango said the 2 words that Kagome was thinking but couldn't voice, "Oh shit!"  
  
----Inu's and Miroku's POV----  
  
After a half hour of quickly searching through every store in the mall, Inuyasha and Miroku finally met up at the food court.  
  
"I couldn't find them anywhere! Any luck with you, Miroku?"  
  
Miroku slowly shook his head and Inuyasha caught a glimpse of a look of a defeat on his face, but it quickly turned to relief and victory as he grinned.  
  
"What are you so happy about, monk?"  
  
Miroku glared at his friend. Today, his good ole pal decided it'd be fun to start calling him 'monk' instead of Miroku. He rolled his eyes as he simply pointed behind the confused hanyou. Inuyasha turned around quickly and smirked when he saw the two girls sitting at a table. He then started walking towards them with Miroku right beside him. He saw the look of horror on the 'boomerang-girl's face and watched as Kagome turned around with a look much like the other girl's. With his hanyou hearing, he clearly caught the first girl saying "Oh shit!". Then to his dismay, the girls got up and started walking quickly away from them. 'Oh no, we're gonna lose them in the crowd!' Inuyasha thought, his smirk turning to a scowl. When they reached the spot where the girls formerly were, sure enough, they had lost sight of them. They continued to look around the food court, however, and hope that they caught sight of them again.  
  
(Should kyuuka-kit stop here? ...Nah!)  
  
----Kag's and Sango's POV----  
  
Kagome and Sango walked away from their table, hoping to get lost in the crowd. They proceeded to head the last place a person like them would be...the merry-go-round. They paid for the tickets and got on the merry-go- round. Kagome picked a black horse while Sango took the one next to her. It was a giant yellowish cat demon with black stripes on its two tails and red eyes. Sango instantly fell in love with it and decided to name it.  
  
Kagome turned towards Sango when she heard her say "Kirara" and saw Sango giving the plastic demon a hug. Kagome sweat-dropped and faced front again. But she didn't have long before she was interrupted yet again by a small voice saying, "Hi!"  
  
Kagome turned to her left and saw a little kitsune cub climb onto the horse next to her and stare at her with big adorable turquoise eyes.  
  
"Hi!" Kagome responded, flashing a big smile towards the little boy.  
  
The boy beamed and flashed his own grin and continued. "I'm Shippo and I'm a powerful demon!" he said smirking and striking a pose. This made Kagome giggle. When Shippo heard her giggle he asked her, "What's so funny?"  
  
"You're just so kawaii!" Kagome replied.  
  
Shippo frowned. "I am not cute, I'm a ferocious demon!" he corrected.  
  
Kagome decided to play along, "Okay, okay!"  
  
Shippo looked at her and then said, "You didn't tell me your name."  
  
"Oh, sorry, my name is Kagome," she replied, giving him an apologetic smile.  
  
"Wanna be my friend, Kagome?" Shippo asked, and Kagome could see the sincerity in his eyes.  
  
"Yes, I would love to be your friend, Shippo!"  
  
He beamed at that comment and the merry-go-round started up. He then started talking about all his special abilities, like his fox-fire and his transformations and his crying mushrooms. Kagome looked at the adorable little boy. When there was a pause, Kagome asked, "So Shippo, I would love to meet your parents, they raised you very well." Kagome noticed his eyes looked sad at what she said. 'Uh oh,' she thought, 'I should start watching what I say.'  
  
"My parents died," he said looking a little sad.  
  
"Oh, Shippo, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have brought that up, please forgive me?" she asked sincerely.  
  
Shippo stared at Kagome in wonder. No one had ever asked him to forgive them before. He smiled big and answered, "Of course, I forgive you, Kagome! Not a lot of people ever wanna talk to me and I really like talking to you!" This made Kagome smile as she enveloped the kawaii kitsune in a tight hug. Shippo smiled and after Kagome let go, he jumped in her lap and looked at her.  
  
"Can I sit here with you, please?" he asked with big puppy dog eyes that Kagome couldn't refuse.  
  
"Of course you can!" But the ride suddenly stopped and Kagome looked over at Sango who had been watching the whole scene take place with a smile on her face.  
  
"Hey, Shippo, this is Sango," Kagome introduced Sango to him as Sango stood up and the kitsune jumped onto her shoulder.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Sango!" Shippo smiled. Kagome stood up and they all walked (well, Shippo rode on Sango's shoulder) off the ride. As soon as they exited the ride and were away from the crowd, though, a hand grabbed Kagome's wrist and she froze in shock.  
  
AN: Well kyuuka-kit's gonna end it here, ok? I guess it's sort of a cliffhanger. If you can figure out who the hand belongs to, you get a cookie! Mmmmm, cookie. This is where I respond to my reviewers! I'm still so excited that people reviewed! You like me, you really like me!! Hehe.  
  
**Icy Ichigo**- You really think this is as good as kit's stories? This makes me happy!!! Cookie for you!! Oh, and okey day is just my thing for saying okey dokey. You'll probably see that in later chapters too!  
  
**Alyssa**- Ok, here's more! And for reviewing...here's a cookie!!  
  
I decided that just one cookie isn't enough for my awesome reviewers, soooo...if you DO review, you get a BOX full of cookies!!! C'mon people, this is an offer you can't refuse!! What do you mean, you can refuse it, no you can't!!! I have a magic spell over you!! My spells don't affect you?! How can this be?! It must be the awesome powers of the readers/reviewers that protect you. But if you're reading this, you know you like it! And if you like it you should review! That's all I gots to say. Catch ya later!  
  
kyuuka-kitsune


	3. Protector Prevails

AN: 3rd chappie! It ends at a weird point, but I got tired. When I get more sleep and more food, I'll update ok? Okey day!

Disclaimer: It's only the 3rd chapter and already the disclaimer thing bugs me. But here we go! ahem kyuuka-kitsune does not own Inuyasha, although she does in her dreams. Her dreams are very nice. grins

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 3: Protector Prevails**

Kagome slowly turned around and saw who the hand belonged to.

"Hojo..." Kagome said, slightly irritated. (AN: You were expecting someone else?) Hojo smiled and let go of her hand.

"Hi Kagome, I was just wondering if you wanted to go see a movie with me sometime?" Hojo asked hopefully. Kagome wanted to slap him. He never understood that Kagome didn't like him, did he?

"Uh...well..." she started, trying to find a good excuse, her eyes darting about the food court. That's when caught a glimpse of silver and gold coming their way. 'Uh oh,' she thought. But then a smile crossed her lips as she thought of an idea. The hanyou and the pervert quickly reached them, but before either of them had a chance to say anything, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand, not wanting to get near Miroku and pulled Inuyasha in front of her, poking her head around him to look at Hojo.

"You see, this is my boyfriend, so I can't, Hojo, sorry!" she hurriedly said, hoping it would work. Judging by the look on Hojo's face it did, at least for the time being.

"Oh," he said sadly, "Well, maybe some other time. See ya around, Kagome!" He then turned and walked away. Kagome sighed as soon as he was out of sight, but her relief soon left as Inuyasha turned around and glared at her.

"What was that all about!?" he shouted. Kagome flinched and opted to try to explain about Hojo.

"Well that guy keeps trying to get me to go out with him, but I don't want to and I don't want to hurt his feelings that much either, so I thought..."

She was cut off when Inuyasha said, "You thought? That's a miracle!"

Kagome was surprised by his rudeness but she kept herself from being hurt by it. "You don't even know me, baka! I probably think a lot more than you judging by your thick sku-" That's when she noticed his ears. Inuyasha looked at her, waiting for her to continue. He expected her to continue yelling, but what he did not expect was for her to reach up and start rubbing his ears. When he felt her touching his ears, he tried to suppress a smile from crossing his lips and tried to glare at her, but he couldn't help emitting a low, content growl. He stopped immediately after he heard himself, and asked, "What are you doing, wench?"

Kagome stopped and blushed, just realizing that she had been rubbing this stranger's ears. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo looked on in amusement. Sango was too busy thinking of ways to make fun of Kagome later, though, to notice an unwanted hand reach behind her and grab something he wasn't supposed to.

"HENTAI!!!" she yelled, hitting him on the head with Hiraikotsu (thanks to kit for the spelling!). When they heard 2 loud thumps, Inuyasha and Kagome turned to their friends, forgetting what they had been doing, and stared at the unconscious man on the ground. The first thump had been Sango hitting him, and the second had been him hitting the floor.

"3 times..." Kagome heard Inuyasha mutter under his breath and stared at him confused. When Inuyasha felt her gaze on him he turned to her, "Quit staring, will ya?" Kagome blushed and mentally slapped herself.

'I have to quit doing that. I'm such a baka!' she thought, watching as Inuyasha tried to slap Miroku back into consciousness. She took this opportunity to quietly grab Sango's hand and walk away. They only walked a few steps, though, when Inuyasha stopped them.

"Don't go anywhere, or I call the cops," he said threateningly. Kagome and Sango stopped, knowing the jig was up. Shippo didn't know what was going on however and decided to defy Inuyasha.

"We can go anywhere we want, we haven't done anything wrong. That stupid pervert deserved it!"

Inuyasha looked up at the little kitsune and scoffed. "Where'd you pick up that sorry excuse for a demon?"

This angered Shippo however and he jumped on Inuyasha's head and started biting his ears while shouting, "What do you mean 'sorry excuse'! I'm probably more powerful than you! You look like you're only a hanyou, stupid baka!"

Inuyasha stood up and picked the struggling kitsune off his head and held him up by the tail. "Never make fun of me for being a hanyou!" he shouted and dropped Shippo onto the floor.

"Hey, leave him alone, he was only defending us. He's got nothing to do with what we did so leave him out of it!" Kagome said angrily as she picked up the unconscious kitsune and held him like a baby in her arms. She then continued, "And what's so bad about being a hanyou anyway?"

Miroku had regained consciousness and he heard Kagome's question. He looked over at hanyou in question to see his reaction. He only crossed his arms and turned his back to them, simply stating, "Feh!"

Miroku sighed and called Kagome over to him as he stood up. "Kagome, the bad thing about being a hanyou, as in Inuyasha's case, is that humans and demons alike despise him because he's not a full human or full demon and he has a hard time fitting in."

Inuyasha started walking away and Kagome looked after him and whispered, "Inuyasha..." Even though she didn't really know him, she still felt sorry for him. Inuyasha twitched his ears when he heard Kagome say his name.

'I've been nothing but rude to this girl and yet she still feels sorry for me? Feh! I don't need anyone or their pity!' he thought. He heard footsteps behind him and he stopped and turned around. Miroku, Kagome with Shippo still in her arms, and 'boomerang girl' were following him.

"Oi, why are you following me?" he asked. Kagome decided to answer.

"Well you figured out that we stole from you, that's why you threatened to call the cops, so we figured it wasn't a good idea to run away."

Inuyasha nodded and asked, "Why did you steal the Shikon no Tama?"

Kagome stared at the ground and replied, "Well we found out that if we sold it on the black market, it would be worth a lot of money."

"Don't you know what that jewel is capable of?"

Kagome shook her head.

Inuyasha sighed, "That jewel is more powerful than you know and if it gets into the wrong hands, it would be an extremely bad thing."

Kagome looked up. "What's it capable of doing?"

Inuyasha looked around. The mall was not a good place to be discussing the jewel. He motioned for them to follow him. They walked in silence towards the exit, but didn't stop there. They walked through the parking lot to a red car and then stopped.

"Do you guys need a ride home? We can discuss the jewel in the car," he explained.

Kagome and Sango looked at each other and then looked back at Inuyasha and nodded. He unlocked the car and got in the driver's seat. Miroku took the passenger seat and Kagome, Sango, and Shippo took the back seat. Kagome gently placed the now conscious, but sleeping Shippo in the middle seat and buckled him up. Inuyasha started the car and they sped off. All was silent while Kagome and Sango waited expectantly for someone to tell them about the jewel.

Inuyasha broke the silence, "The jewel is capable of granting any wish."

Kagome nodded and silently replied, "If we had known that it was that powerful, we wouldn't have stolen it. I'm very sorry." She pulled the jewel out of her pocket and held it out to the boys in front. Inuyasha took a glance at it before looking back at the road. He then widened his eyes and looked at the jewel again. It was a lot brighter than before. It looked like it had when Kikyou had had it. Miroku noticed this too and looked at Inuyasha expectantly while the Kagome waited for one of them to take it.

"Keep it," Inuyasha said gruffly. If it was as bright now as it was when Kikyou was its protector, then that must mean Kagome would be its new protector.

Kagome looked up at him, confused. "But you said..."

"I said it would be bad if it was in the wrong hands. You can keep it as long as you don't sell it."

"But why are you giving it to me? I tried to steal it from you!"

"Listen, wench, you're the new protector of the jewel."

Kagome felt her blood boil when he called her wench. "My name is Kagome, not wench! And how do you know I'm the new protector?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Do you see how the jewel is glowing bright pink? Well, it only glows that bright when the protector has it. Got it...wench?" He enunciated the last word while smirking.

"Quit calling me wench, Dog-boy!"

Inuyasha certainly hadn't expected her to retaliate but he quickly shook off his shock and stated, "I'll call you whatever I want, wench!" He pulled up a driveway and turned off the car and started to get out.

Kagome was really mad now. "This isn't my house, sit back down and take me home!!" she screamed. Then the most unexpected thing happened. Inuyasha fell to the ground and couldn't get back up.

"What the hell happened!?" he yelled, still unable to get up. This roused everyone's curiosity and they all got out of his car, including the now awake Shippo, and walked over to where Inuyasha had fallen. Eventually he got up and looked at Kagome with an accusing expression on his face.

"What!? I didn't do anything! Quit staring at me like that!"

"You had to have done something! I didn't fall until you started yelling at me again!"

"It's not my fault you're clumsy!"

"I'm not clumsy; it felt like something pulled me to the ground!"

They stopped arguing and just glared at each other, auras flaring. Sango looked over at Miroku when she noticed he looked like he was deep in thought.

"Perhaps it was something Kagome said?" Miroku suggested.

"But all I said was 'sit back down and take me home'."

Inuyasha hit the ground again. Miroku looked down at him and then up at Kagome. "Say that sentence one word at a time."

Kagome nodded, "Okay." She cleared her throat and said the first word, "Sit..." Inuyasha went deeper into the ground, if that was possible. Kagome smiled and said, "So that's it! Every time I say 'sit', he literally 'sits' so I guess 'sit' is the magic word!"

Poor Inuyasha groaned in pain as he continued being drilled into the ground because Kagome used the word 'sit' 3 times in one sentence and he knew he was gonna feel this in the morning. Before Kagome had another chance to continue torturing Inuyasha, both Sango and Miroku clamped her mouth shut. That's when Sango noticed something on her butt and looked behind her. She glared at Miroku and slapped him. Miroku rubbed the red handprint on his cheek.

Inuyasha finally managed to climb out of the crater he had made in the ground. He immediately glared at Kagome. Kagome looked at him, confused at first, but then she realized what she had done and a guilty expression crossed her face

"Oh kami, I'm so sorry Inuyasha! I guess I shouldn't say that word anymore! But I'm really, really sorry, I swear!!" she gushed with sincerity.

"Feh! Yeah, keep your trap shut next time, wench!"

Inuyasha soon realized that was a bad idea as he crashed into the ground once more as Kagome yelled, "SIT!"

It was at that moment that Miroku cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I don't think we've been formally introduced yet. My name is Miroku."

Kagome looked over at him. "I'm Kagome," she said shaking his hand.

"I'm Sango," said Sango as she reached for Miroku's outstretched hand. She didn't realize however, that his outstretched hand grabbed her ass instead of her hand. "HENTAI!" she yelled while smacking him for the 5th time that morning.

Shippo spoke up and said, "I'm Shippo!"

Inuyasha got off the ground and wiped himself off. They all looked up at him expectantly. "Inuyasha," he stated simply.

"Well, Inuyasha, can you take us home now?" Kagome asked sweetly.

"Hold on, I have to talk to my half-brother first."

"Your half-brother?" Sango questioned.

"Yeah, it might take a while, though, so follow me." He led them into his house and told them to make themselves comfortable in the living room, pointing out the remote while he went to look for Sesshomaru.

He went to Sesshomaru's room first, but he wasn't in there. He then headed to his own room. No Sesshy there either. He decided to look in the garage. He went out to the garage and saw his half-brother practicing using his sword, Tokijin with a small girl watching him.

"Oi, Sesshomaru! I have to talk to you!" Inuyasha said to his older half-brother.

Sesshomaru stopped his movements suddenly and looked at the hanyou with an expressionless face. "What is this about, Inuyasha?"

"The Shikon no Tama."

Sesshomaru kept his calm demeanor, but surprise flashed in his eyes for a split-second before returning to their stoic gaze. He looked over at the small girl.

"Rin, leave us for a while."

The girl nodded, got up, and saluted. "Yes Lord Sesshomaru," she said in a small high-pitched voice before running through the door.

"What about the Shikon no Tama?" asked Sesshomaru once the door closed behind Rin.

"It was stolen today-" Inuyasha started but was interrupted by Sesshomaru.

"You let someone steal it?" he asked with a sharper tone than usual.

"It's ok, we got it back!"

Sesshomaru slightly sighed in relief. He knew what the consequences would be if the jewel was stolen.

Inuyasha continued, "When the person handed the jewel back over, it was glowing brightly. You know what that means don't you?"

Sesshomaru nodded. So the jewel had chosen its new protector. It was about time. The last protector it had was over a year ago. Sesshomaru studied the hanyou's features. He had been very fond of its last protector. He wondered how he would react to the new one.

"So where is the protector?"

"She's waiting in the living room with 2 of her friends and Miroku."

Sesshomaru sheathed his sword and walked towards the door with Inuyasha following.

----Meanwhile, in the living room----

Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and Shippo sat down in the living room after Inuyasha left to look for his half-brother. The only one who relaxed, though, was Miroku who had been here many times before. Silence filled the room as the others surveyed their surroundings. After that, Kagome broke the silence.

"So what's Inuyasha's half-brother like?"

Miroku turned to her. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain, so you'll just have to wait until you meet him."

"We're going to meet him?"

"I'm pretty sure you will. After all, you are the new protector."

"I have a question about that. How exactly am I supposed to protect this? I mean, I don't know any martial arts or have a weapon or anything."

Miroku looked at her in skepticism. "Aren't you a miko?"

"A what?"

"A miko, a priestess. All the other protectors were."

"What happened to all the other protectors?"

Miroku was about to answer when they were interrupted by a little girl walking in. "Oh hello, Rin! How are you today?" asked Miroku who seemed to know the little girl.

"Hi Miroku! I'm fine. Are these your friends?" she asked, walking over and sitting next to Miroku.

"Yes they are. This is Lady Kagome, the lovely Sango, and Shippo," he introduced, pointing to them in turn.

Rin stood up and bowed. "I'm Rin! Do you want to be my friends?" she asked with such a big smile that Kagome and Sango couldn't help but giggle.

"Of course we will, Rin!" Sango said.

Rin smiled even bigger and saw Shippo. "Hey Shippo, do you want to go out and play?"

"Sure, let's go!" With that, they raced outside before anyone could stop them. Kagome cleared her throat and Miroku looked at her before remembering her last question.

"What happened to all the other protectors?" repeated Kagome.

"They died," came an unfamiliar voice from behind her. She turned around to face a tall demon with silver hair and amber eyes with marks on his cheeks and forehead.

"I'm Sesshomaru. You must be the new protector."

AN: Well kyuuka's tired, so she's gonna end it there, okay? If you can guess how all the other protectors died you get...ramen! I'm out of cookies, coz I ate them all! Hehe!! Anyways, Rin entered the picture today and Inuyasha has the evil 'sit' curse! I had to do it, it wouldn't be the same without Kagome screaming "SIT!" every time he made her mad. Time for Review Responses!

**Serenity**- Nope, it wasn't Inuyasha, but yes, Inuyasha is hot! Box of cookies for reviewing! I saved them for chapter 2 reviewers! Feel special? Hehe!

**crazy-kitsune**- I'm very flattered! You may have your own cookies, but have another box! It's good coz it's cookie dough instead of cookies. I got too lazy to cook them. Hehe, cookie dough is good though!

Okay, people I now have 5 reviews! ( ) ( ) ( ) -that would be a happy dance! Anyway if you review this chapter you get...ramen! I love ramen! Mmmmm... ahem anyway, I'm out, catch ya later!


	4. Naraku sent Nuisance

AN: Sorry I couldn't update earlier, guys! My computer's being really retarded and it's not reading the internet connection. It's really annoying, but this is the only working computer I can use! Anyway, one of my friends who found out I was writing a story asked if I would put him in it. At first, I was like no, because he doesn't watch any anime and he has no clue who Inuyasha is, and doesn't read anything on ff.net, but I thought about it and I was like okay, I'll give him a chance! So he's gonna do the disclaimer!!

Disclaimer:  
kyuuka: Okay, Jamin, get out here!  
Jamin: No!  
kyuuka: But you wanted to be in my story and you are, so get your baboon butt out here, Rafiki!  
Jamin: Don't call me Rafiki, Simba!  
kyuuka: Grrrrr! Jamin, if you don't get out here, I'm going to create something evil to eat you up!!  
Jamin: All right, all right, I'm coming out!  
-Jamin comes out dressed in a fairy outfit, complete with wings and a wig-  
Jamin: Happy now?  
kyuuka: Not yet! You still have to do the disclaimer!  
Jamin: -groans- kyuuka does not own-  
kyuuka: That's not how I told you to do it!  
Jamin: -groans louder- Fine!  
I'm a pretty fairy,  
And that is kyuuka-kit,  
Inuyasha she wants to marry,  
But she doesn't own it.  
She does own the dragon demon  
But not Inuyasha and Co.  
And she owns me in this poem  
And wants to name me Joe.  
kyuuka: Yay! Very good, Joe!  
Jamin AKA Joe: Yeah, whatever, you're mean, Tylai!  
kyuuka: SHHHH!!! Don't say my real name!! Now go!  
Joe: I'm free, I'm free!!!  
-Joe runs out the door and kyuuka sweat drops-  
kyuuka: So much for him wanting to be in the story! Anyways, here's what happened last chapter:

"They died," came an unfamiliar voice from behind her. She turned around to face a tall demon with silver hair and amber eyes with marks on his cheeks and forehead.

"I'm Sesshomaru. You must be the new protector."

And here's the new chapter!!!!

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 4: Naraku-sent Nuisance**

"Yeah, so I've been told," responded Kagome, "but how did the protectors die?"

Sesshomaru didn't answer, thinking that if she knew, she wouldn't protect the jewel. Inuyasha on the other hand wasn't too bright.

"Naraku's gang killed them."

Kagome's eyes widened. Sesshomaru glared at his idiotic younger half-brother. Inuyasha saw Sesshomaru's gaze out of the corner of his eye and gulped. 'Oops,' he thought.

"Why did Naraku's gang kill them?" Kagome pondered aloud.

"Because he wants the jewel to himself," answered Inuyasha.

"Well wouldn't it be bad if he got it?"

"Yeah, duh! That's why we have protectors!"

"Well why does it only pick 'niko's or whatever?"

"Mikos!" corrected Inuyasha, "Because only mikos have the power to purify the jewel."

"Oh."

"But if you're too weak and afraid to protect it, you can back out now. We understand. Most humans are weak anyway."

Sesshomaru and Miroku glared at Inuyasha. What was he thinking, giving her a chance to back out like that? They needed her no matter how weak she was.

"I am NOT afraid and I am definitely NOT weak! I can protect the jewel!"

Inuyasha smirked. He knew that by insulting her, she would only argue and end up protecting the jewel.

"Fine, but if you get killed, it's not our fault, weakling."

"I'm not gonna get killed!"

"Okay, if you're confident...you're the protector."

Kagome looked pleased with herself but after realizing that Inuyasha had tricked her, she sweat dropped. 'Oh well, I can still protect the jewel. After all, they said they would help me and they look strong enough. After all, they're demons.'

"So who exactly is this Naraku guy?" asked Sango.

"Naraku is a powerful demon (in my story they don't know he's a hanyou yet) that will stop at nothing to get the jewel. His gang consists of many other powerful demons, the most influential being Kagura, a wind demon, and Kanna. Both Kagura and Kanna are his reincarnates and are controlled by Naraku," explained Miroku.

"Wow, did you rehearse that all day, monk?" questioned Inuyasha.

"Monk?" repeated a confused Sango.

"Yeah he's a monk in training," explained Inuyasha.

"A monk, are you serious?"

"That's what he says, but I'm not so sure with those wandering hands of his."

"I have said it before, I am a monk by force, not choice," explained Miroku.

At that moment, Rin and Shippo came bursting through the door with scared faces.

"Lord Sesshomaru, Lord Sesshomaru!" exclaimed Rin, practically jumping on him.

Sesshomaru looked down at the child. "What is it, Rin?"

"There's something big coming this way!" explained Shippo. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"What did it look like?" asked Sesshomaru.

"We didn't get a good look at it, we only caught a glimpse of it for a second, but it started chasing us! It could be here at any minute!" said Shippo, jumping into Kagome's arms and hugging her tightly.

Sesshomaru walked to the door with Inuyasha and Miroku following. Sango and Kagome wanted to know what was going on, so they followed to. Rin stayed behind Sesshomaru, clutching his kimono. They stepped outside and saw this huge dragon demon about the size of a 2-story-house. It was red and had slitted blue eyes and big sharp yellow teeth. Its black claws were about as big as its teeth and just as sharp. It had a long tail with a spiked end and there here spikes running in a line along his back. The pitch black wings were huge with a span of 150 feet (half the size of a football field). And to top it all off, this was a fire-breathing dragon.

"Rin, go back inside and take your little friend with you," stated Sesshomaru, referring to Shippo.

Rin ran back to Kagome to get Shippo and go back inside.

"No, I have to protect Kagome!" Shippo said, jumping out of Kagome's arms and to the ground in front of her while growling.

"Shippo, I don't want you to get hurt. Please, go back inside, ok?" Kagome asked as sweetly as possible.

"But, Kagome-"

"Go inside, ya little runt!" Inuyasha shouted back without taking his eyes off the demon. Shippo reluctantly ran inside with Rin and Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Miroku took fighting stances.

"You ladies better go inside as well. This might get ugly," suggested Miroku.

Kagome shook her head. "No, there has to be a way I can help. After all, I'm a miko, right? And you said they're powerful."

"Yeah, but your powers obviously haven't been awoken yet, so get inside," shouted Inuyasha

"No! I'm going to help!"

"Fine, just stay out of the way. Sango, can you fight?"

"Yes, I come from a line of demon exterminators, so I can help." She took Hiraikotsu off her back and got into a fighting stance as well. Inuyasha made the first move, jumping and preparing to strike the demon in the head with his claws. The demon, however, hit him back into the house with his tail.

"Inuyasha!" yelled Kagome. 'Wait, what am I doing? He's a hanyou, he can handle himself. Why am I so worried about him?'

While Inuyasha was getting up, Miroku was about to take the prayer beads off his hand to suck the demon into his wind tunnel, but Sesshomaru and Inuyasha heard buzzing in the distance.

"Don't, Miroku. There are poison insects coming this way," warned Inuyasha as he took a fighting stance next to him.

"Damn," said Miroku as he put the prayer beads back on. "I'm no use in this fight."

"Make sure Kagome stays safe, Miroku," ordered Inuyasha in a low voice so Kagome couldn't hear. Miroku nodded and ran back over to Kagome.

"HIRAIKOTSU!" yelled Sango as she swung her giant boomerang at the monster. She managed to cut a hole in one of his wings and this enraged the demon. Sango caught her boomerang when it came back to her and just managed to dodge the fire that the demon aimed at her. Sesshomaru whipped out Tokijin and charged the demon, cutting off one of his front legs. The demon was temporarily confused, not understanding how it could have been wounded when Inuyasha brought his claws down on the demon.

"IRON REAVER, SOUL STEALER!" shouted Inuyasha, and the dragon was slashed to bits. Sesshomaru sheathed his sword while Sango put Hiraikotsu on her back. Kagome ran towards Inuyasha who was examining his claws.

"When you hit the house, I thought you were a goner!" exclaimed Kagome.

"Feh! It takes a lot more than concrete to kill me," Inuyasha stated.

Kagome smiled. "I'm glad."

Inuyasha looked at her, slightly confused, before turning away. "Feh!"

"Don't let your guard down like that next time, Inuyasha. It could mean the death of you," Sesshomaru said.

"Hey, I'm the one that killed the stupid demon!" argued Inuyasha.

Miroku looked up at the sky, seeing the poison insects leaving. "So Naraku has already found out about the new protector, I suppose," he said.

"Yeah, seems like it," agreed Inuyasha, "But we're not gonna make the same mistake twice. There's no way he's gonna hurt Kagome!" He covered his mouth, just realizing what he said. 'Where'd that come from? Why do I care if he hurts this annoying girl? It's not like I like her!'

"Really, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked with stars in her eyes.

Inuyasha looked nervous. "Of course. I'm-I mean, we're gonna protect you, wen-uh...Kagome."

Miroku smirked. 'I think he's falling for Kagome.' But before he could taunt the hanyou, two children came bursting out of the house.

"Kagome, Kagome, you're all right!" shouted Shippo as he jumped in her arms and embraced her tightly.

"Of course I'm all right, Shippo!" responded Kagome.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you fought really good!" shouted Rin as ran to him and hugged his legs. He sweat-dropped and patted the girl on the head.

"Are all Naraku's minions that easy to beat?" questioned Sango.

"No, they're usually a lot stronger. I think he was just testing us this time around," suggested Inuyasha.

"If I had my bow and arrows, I could've helped," said Kagome.

"You practice archery?" Miroku said in question.

Kagome nodded and Miroku looked over at Inuyasha. The hanyou had a look of shock in his face. Seeing this out of the corner of her eye, Kagome turned to face him.

"What?" she queried.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Nothing, it's nothing."

"I have a question."

"What is it, Kagome?" asked Miroku.

"Inuyasha, you said my powers haven't awoken yet. But when do they awaken?"

"You have to train in order to awaken your powers," explained Inuyasha.

"But how do I train my miko powers? I don't know mikos!"

Inuyasha smirked. "You don't, but we do."

----Approximately 30 minutes later, in an old feudal-looking village----

"Oi, old hag, we need you!" shouted Inuyasha, walking into one of the huts.

An old woman wearing feudal-looking clothes and a black eye patch stepped out. "What is it ye need, Inuyasha?"

"We found the new protector, Kaede," explained Miroku, following Inuyasha into the hut. (In this fic, Kaede and Kikyou are NOT related because personally, I don't understand how Kaede could be so nice while Kikyou is so bitchy. But Kaede did know Kikyou.)Kaede looked at them in disbelief.

"Oi, wench, get in here!" shouted Inuyasha, poking his head out of the door.

A very loud "SIT!" was heard from outside and Inuyasha was sent crashing into the ground. Kagome then entered, making sure to step on Inuyasha's back. She stopped in front of Kaede and bowed. Kaede just stared. She looked like Kikyou. They had the same hair, although Kagome's was messier, and they had the same face. The only difference was in the eyes. Kagome's were full of life and energy and happiness while Kikyou's had been filled with hate and sadness and didn't have the spark that Kagome's did.

"Rise, child," ordered Kikyou. Kagome did as she was told and stood nervously in front of Kaede while she walked around the girl, studying her.

"Do ye have the jewel, child?"

Kagome nodded and took the jewel out of her pocket and handed it to Kaede. Kaede studied it, noting how bright it was and gave it back to Kagome.

"Keep it around your neck, it will be safer," she instructed. Kagome nodded and put the chain over her head.

"What is your name, child?" Kaede questioned.

"K-Kagome," she stuttered. She didn't know why she was so nervous. This day had just seemed so unreal to her.

"Follow me, Kagome," Kaede said as she exited the hut. By that time, Inuyasha had finally gotten up and paced impatiently outside, dragging Miroku with him. Sesshomaru leaned against the hut with Rin sitting next to him. Sango sat on the steps with Miroku a little too close for comfort. Shippo was on his shoulder, pulling his hair every time he got too close to Sango. When Kaede exited the hut with Kagome in tow, everyone looked up.

"Well, what do you think, Kaede?" queried Inuyasha.

"She is the new protector. I must train her now, although it may take several weeks."

"Several weeks!?" shrieked Kagome. "I have to go to school, and take exams and tests!"

"Do not worry yourself, child. We will only practice a few hours a day after ye are done with schoolwork. Ye will meet me here. But for now, we are going to see what ye are capable of."

"Oh, okay," agreed Kagome.

They walked over to an empty space where Kaede sat cross-legged and motioned for Kagome to do the same. Kagome sat and waited for Kaede to instruct her.

"Now, Kagome, we will start simply by creating a ball of pure energy. Are you ready?"

Kagome nodded, indicating she was ready.

"Put your hands in front of you like this," she indicated, positioning her hands to look like she was holding an invisible ball. Kagome looked at Kaede's hands and copied them. She then looked back up, indicating she was ready for the next instructions.

"Now clear your mind and focus all your energy up into your hands." Kaede demonstrated and a small pink ball of light appeared between her hands. Kagome gulped. She didn't know if she could do this, but she would try. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind of everything and imagined all her energy going into her hands. When she heard Kaede gasp, she opened her eyes and looked at her hands. Instead of the small pink ball of light Kaede had made, Kagome did something different. Pink flames engulfed both of Kagome's hands, but she noticed that she couldn't even feel it and it wasn't in a ball like Kaede's had been. She looked at Kaede, confused.

"You're much stronger than I first thought ye would be, child," Kaede informed her. Kaede smiled when she saw Kagome's confused look. 'It will be much easier to teach this girl than I thought.'

AN: Okay, kiddos, that's all for now! Usually, at this point, I'd offer you something if you could figure a part of the story out, but I can't exactly think of anything to figure out. But if you do happen to make any connections, tell me and you win a prize! I don't know what it is yet, but I'll tell you next chapter, okey day? Good! Time for Reviewer Responses!

**Serenity-** Yep, here's your ramen! Thanks for reviewing!

Okay, that's it. Review, Review, Review!! Pretty please with a cherry on top? Tankee!!


	5. Meeting Myouga

AN: Hi guys! Sorry I'm not updating as frequently, but my muses keep fighting over what should happen next. I tried to make them sign a peace treaty, but then they hit me over the head with a frying pan! O.o Anyway, I'm making a compromise. One wanted me to write fluff in this chapter while the other wanted a battle. Well, I did the best I could with both, so just check it out while I calm down my muses once again!

Disclaimer: Sorry guys, but Joe didn't wanna come back and do the disclaimer. Soooo, my muses are!

Muse 1: We are?  
Muse 2: She just said that, dork face!  
Muse 1: Shut up, Hinote, I heard her the first time!  
Hinote: The first time? Was there ever a second time, Kasai?  
Kasai: Would you be quiet? She likes me better, anyway!  
Hinote: Oh really? Is that why she has more blood and gore than stupid fluffiness?  
Kasai: There's a lot more fluff than gore!  
Hinote: Is not!  
Kasai: Is too!  
Hinote: Is not!  
Kasai: Is too!  
kyuuka: Guys! This is the disclaimer! Can you just do your jobs?  
Hinote: She started it!  
Kasai: Nuh uh, he did!  
kyuuka: If you guys don't stop arguing, I'm going to erase all the fluff AND gore!  
::Hinote and Kasai gulp::  
Hinote: kyuuka does not own Inuyasha,  
Kasai: Kagome,  
Hinote: Sango,  
Kasai: Miroku,  
Hinote: Kaede,  
Kasai: Sesshomaru,  
Hinote: Rin,  
Kasai: Shippo,  
Hinote: Myouga,  
Kasai: Kikyou,  
Hinote: Naraku,  
Kasai: Kagura,  
Hinote: Kanna,  
Kasai: or Kouga.  
Hinote: Is that it?  
Kasai: Yeah, but she does own us...  
Hinote: and Okibi.  
kyuuka: Thanks guys! And for those who are wondering who Okibi is, you'll meet her later on, ok? Ok, cool!

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

****

**Chapter 5: Meeting Myouga**

Kagome and Kaede trained every day after school, which had ended a week ago (coincidence, I swear, it's just a coincidence!), and on the weekends they would meet at noon to begin training sessions. It only took 2 weeks for Kaede to awaken most of Kagome's powers. She had even managed to put her miko energy into her arrows when shooting a bow and arrow. This made the arrow much stronger and able to defeat just about any human enemy and some youkai enemies. After the last session of training in the 2 week time period, Kaede decided to have a chat with Kagome.

"Kagome, I must ask ye a question," Kaede said slowly, as if choosing her words wisely.

"Nani?" responded a cheerful Kagome.

"How did ye happen to meet Inuyasha?"

"Well," Kagome began, twiddling her thumbs and looking nervously at the ground, "Sango and I sort of...uh...well, we stole...we stole the Shikon no Tama," she finished quickly.

"Ye stole it?"

"Yeah, but then Inuyasha and Miroku found us and when I gave back the jewel, Inuyasha told me to keep it because it was glowing brightly," Kagome recalled, thinking back on the events of that fateful day.

Kaede nodded, indicating she understood. "Did he ever mention Kikyou, child?"

"Uh..." Kagome tried to think back, "not that I remember, no. Why? Who was she?"

Kaede sighed. She knew Inuyasha would probably get mad at her for telling Kagome, but she needed to know. "Kikyou was the latest protector although she was killed over a year ago. Her and Inuyasha were deeply in love and when she died, a part of him died as well, so I was a little surprised that Inuyasha accepted ye as the new protector so openly since ye resemble her so much."

"I resemble her?" question Kagome. She didn't know why, but she didn't like this look-a-like of hers and she was quite saddened when Kaede mentioned that Inuyasha was deeply in love with her. She caught herself with those thoughts and quickly shook them out of her mind.

Kaede nodded. "Yes, ye and Kikyou look almost exactly alike, but the difference is in your eyes, child. Kikyou had cold eyes, void of emotion, but yours are sparking with life. And what surprised me further is that ye know archery as Kikyou did." Kaede chuckled when she said the next line. "Your shot is not as good as hers, but your miko powers are far more superior than hers ever could have been."

Kagome got slightly angry when Kaede had said she didn't have a good of shot as her so-called look-a-like did, but she softened when she heard that her powers were much stronger. Kagome found her mind wandering back to Inuyasha. He still called her wench, but she was learning more each day about his kind side.

----Flashback----

Kagome was taking a break after one of her training sessions and was walking along the field daydreaming when her foot connected with something hard and she felt herself falling. She reached out her hand to try to stop from falling, but she fell anyway and her wrist connected with the ground and her body landed on top of it.

"Hey," came a familiar voice from above her. She looked up and saw none other than Inuyasha. She braced herself for the numerous insults that would come out of his mouth, like 'clumsy', 'ditz', 'wench', 'stupid', etc. But it never came. Instead, Inuyasha kneeled down next to her, concern showing in his beautiful amber eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked, clearly concerned. Kagome just stared at him with her mouth wide open. Where had this come from? This was not the Inuyasha she remembered. Why was he being nice? Then another thought struck her. Why had she thought his eyes were beautiful!? She closed her mouth, quickly recovering and nodded her head dumbly.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm fine."

"Here, let me help you up," he said, getting to his feet and holding out a hand.

"O-Okay," she stammered as she took his hand and got up. She brushed herself off and winced as pain shot through the wrist that had been smashed underneath her own body.

Inuyasha grabbed her hand and inspected it. "Let me take a look at it."

Kagome's mind was screaming at her for the blush that was creeping across her face. 'Why the hell am I blushing, damnit!?' she thought angrily. She pulled her hand away.

"I'm fine; really, I am, but thanks for your concern!" And with that she ran off, leaving behind a confused hanyou.

----End Flashback----

Kagome and Kaede reached the hut that Kaede called home. Then the one question that had been nagging Kagome for 2 weeks finally came out of her mouth.

"Why does this town look like the feudal era?"

Kaede smiled. She knew that Kagome had been dying to ask that question, everyone always asked that question. She was just surprised she hadn't asked sooner.

"This town is a museum of sorts. It's an attraction for tourists, but people live here as well," she explained.

"Ooooh," replied Kagome. 'So that's it! I should have known.' They entered the hut to find Miroku sprawled unconscious on the floor and an angry Sango muttering to herself about perverted monks in the corner. Shippo was taking a nap in the corner opposite Sango and Inuyasha was...nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome directed the question at Sango.

"He went out for a walk or something, I don't know," answered Sango. Kagome sighed.

"I'm gonna go look for him. We can't be late for the meeting with Myouga," Kagome reminded her. Sango only nodded as Kagome turned and walked out of the hut. They had met Myouga only a week ago. He was in charge of a summer camp for kids and had talked at a school assembly on the last day of school. (Yes, Inuyasha, Miroku, Kagome, and Sango go to the same school, they just never saw each other before because they don't have any classes together. Work with me people; I'm making this up as I go!) Apparently there were some job openings and since Inuyasha and Miroku were just fired, they decided to talk to the guy and Kagome and Sango needed a job as well since they had given up their life of stealing. So after the assembly they went up to the man and asked what they would need to do to get the jobs. He studied them quickly before he told them to meet him a week later at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Right now, it was only 3:18, but the sooner they met up with him, the better, so Kagome went off in search of Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha!!" she called as she trudged through the forest. That was usually where he went to take walks. He usually ended up at a certain tree that he seemed to like very much and Kagome made her way there, hoping he was sitting in the branches of the tree like usual. Kagome heard something rustle in the bushes next to her and she looked over at it warily. There was more rustling and Kagome was about to scream and run away in fear when a cute little brown squirrel jumped out of the bushes and looked at her with his head cocked to the side.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief and continued on her merry way. She failed to notice, however, the bright green eyes that followed her from the treetops.

After finally reaching the tree, Kagome saw Inuyasha fast asleep high in one of the branches with his back to the trunk.

"Inuyasha!" she called up. He didn't stir from his peaceful slumber.

"INUYASHA!" she yelled louder, but still no response from the sleeping hanyou. 'Goodness, you'd think with those ears of his, he'd be able to hear even in his sleep. I guess not,' she thought grimly as she knew what she had to do. She knew she would get the yelling of a lifetime, but he had to get out of that darn tree.

"Sit!" she said, and Inuyasha came crashing to the ground. It was only when he impacted that he finally opened his eyes and winced in pain.

"Owww!!" he groaned.

"Sorry Inuyasha, but I couldn't wake you up and we have to go meet Myouga, there was no other way!" she explained.

Inuyasha looked up at her with anger in his eyes but deciding she was being completely honest and sincere said, "It's no big deal, it didn't hurt that much. And besides, that's how I usually get woken up; by falling to the ground." He got up and brushed himself off before adding, "But don't ever do that again!" Kagome smiled. Oh kami, how Inuyasha loved her smile. It was a lot different than Kikyou's. Kikyou's smile was actually kind of creepy, but Kagome's was just full of joy. 'Wait, where are these thoughts coming from!? Since when do I love her smile!?' Inuyasha mentally cursed and looked back at Kagome. "Well, let's go, wench!" Kagome's smile faded as she and Inuyasha both turned around to go back to the hut. They would have began the walk immediately if something hadn't been standing there with a smirk.

"Who are you?" asked a confused Inuyasha.

The figure only smiled more and her green eyes sparked with a mischievous glint. Inuyasha studies her. She was a fox youkai that looked to be about 16 or 17. She had messy orange hair that went a little above her shoulders and had a big furry orange fox tail behind her. She wore baggy black pants with red trim at the bottom and a matching shirt with long baggy sleeves and red trim on the ends of the sleeves and the front opening. She wore a white shirt underneath. Red fabric similar to the trim was tied tightly around her mid-thighs and upper arms. The two around her upper arms also tied down a dagger under each one. The fabric around her thighs also contained weapons; the right one had a chain with a weight at the end and the left contained nun chucks. She had a sword on her left side at her waist and 2 swords strapped to her back. She wore 2 necklaces; the first was a choker with a big red ball as a charm and the second was a loose-hanging chain with a key on it. She had 4 piercings on her left ear, 1 near the pointed part of her ears at the top and 3 on her earlobe and she had 3 piercings on her right ear, again, 1 at the top but only 2 on her earlobe. She didn't wear shoes and her fangs showed through her smirk.

"I said, who are you?" asked Inuyasha, now annoyed that she was smirking at him.

The youkai closed her eyes and seemed to smile more. She opened them again and said, "I am Okibi, and you, Inuyasha, are in danger."

Inuyasha was extremely angry now. Who was this girl to tell him he was in danger? And how did she know his name? "What are you talking about?" he asked in a low growl.

"Naraku plans to attack you while you're weak, you must be prepared." Inuyasha was confused. 'What does she mean when I'm weak?' But before he could ask her anything she had disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

"What was that about?" asked Kagome.

"I have no idea," Inuyasha said while shaking his head. "Come on, let's get back. We still need to meet with Myouga about those jobs." And with that, they walked back to the hut, still confused at Okibi's words.

(I kinda wanted to end it here, but I decided my lovely reviewers deserved a longer chapter than that. Although it does hurt to type since my arms are severely sun burnt, but you know what they say, "No pain, no gain!" Owww, shoulders burning...)

They arrived back at the hut in no time and got the others before heading off to Myouga's. On the way, they told Sango, Miroku, and Shippo of the youkai they had encountered.

"She was a fox youkai?" questioned Shippo.

Kagome nodded her head. She figured Shippo would be excited. After all, he was a fox youkai too.

"I've never heard of her," Shippo shook his head.

"You say she warned you that Naraku would attack when you're weak, correct?" asked Miroku.

Inuyasha nodded. He had wondered how he had known of the rivalry between him and Naraku but he didn't understand the, 'when you're weak' part. Then a thought struck him. 'She couldn't mean that! No one knows about that except Miroku, Sesshomaru, and Kaede. Kikyou knew about it too, but...' his thoughts trailed off. He knew Miroku would never tell, after all they were best friends. He also knew that Sesshomaru wouldn't tell, he would never indulge one of Inuyasha's secrets, especially to the enemy. Kaede would never tell; she was trustworthy. That only left Kikyou, but...she was dead! Inuyasha had seen her die! He had wanted to save her, but he couldn't get to her in time. How could Naraku know his secret!? Inuyasha suddenly looked up when he felt that everyone had stopped as they were nearing the edge of the forest. He looked at them and saw that they were staring straight ahead. They all looked shock, especially Miroku. He looked in front of them and he too was in shock. There standing before him was a girl with long straight black hair tied back in a loose ponytail and brown eyes. She wore a pair of red pants and a white shirt. The one word he spoke was filled with so many different emotions that you couldn't tell if he was happy or sad. The word left his lips slowly as if time had slowed down.

"Kikyou..."

AN: Well, that's all for today! I know it's kinda short, but there's a little mystery and intrigue and I left a little cliffy. Don't ya just love me!? Hehe, yeah, I know, I love me too! Okay, Reviewer Responses time!

**crazy-kitsune**- yeah, I guess that is a connection! Why didn't I think of that? Your prize is...uh...Oh wait! I got it! ::kyuuka rummages through her bad and finally finds what she's looking for and pulls it out:: You get a bag of...pixie stix!! Thank ya for reviewing!

**Serenity**- Awww, you think I'm cool! Hehe, thanks for the hug! And of course I put your name up; reviewers get special treatment because they take the time to actually read this weird stuff I think of! Here, you get...um...this extra bag of pixie stix! ::whispers:: you should probably hide those from kit! Hehe!

**Jamin AKA Joe**- you sure are the coolest fairy in the universe, but if you call me bean again, I'll make you do something worse! ::laughs maniacally:: And yeah, you sure did get what you asked for! Hehe!

Well, that's all for reviewers! I hope you liked my story! Bye now!

Hinote: Wait just one minute there!  
Kasai: Yeah!  
::kyuuka laughs nervously::  
kyuuka: Hehe, what is it, guys?  
Hinote: You said there'd be gore!  
Kasai: And fluff!  
kyuuka: There was fluff! And as for the gore, doesn't Miroku getting rendered unconscious count?  
Hinote and Kasai: No!  
kyuuka: Fine, I promise there will be gore in the next chapter.  
Kasai: And the fluff?  
Hinote: There was fluff, ya moron!  
Kasai: Well, there could've been more.  
kyuuka: Kasai, this is a humor/action/adventure story, not romance!  
Kasai: Well how do you expect to further the plot without fluff?  
::kyuuka growls in frustration::  
kyuuka: Fine, I'll try to put more fluff in it next time, too!  
Kasai: Good.  
kyuuka: Hinote, tell 'em about Okibi.  
Hinote: Right, if you want to see a picture of Okibi, buy kyuuka a scanner and...  
Kasai: She doesn't need a scanner.  
Hinote: Well, it would be better than taking a picture of it with a digital camera and emailing it to them!  
Kasai: Well that's the best she can do!  
Hinote: Fine, if you want to see a picture of Okibi, review with your email address or email kyuuka and tell her you want to see it.  
Kasai: Her email address is reddragon522hotmail.com, but she'd like it more if you reviewed.  
Hinote: That's all for now!  
Kasai: BYE!


	6. Kikyou Killed

AN: I've been really tired lately so I didn't really want to type up this chapter yet...that and I had no idea what this chapter was going to be about, but I decided that if I didn't type it today, I'd end up not typing it at all. And Hinote and Kasai, my muses, wanted fluff and gore in this chapter, so there is. There's also Kikyou-bashing!! ::kyuuka gets an evil glint in her eyes:: MUAH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ahem.

Disclaimer: My good friend crazy-kitsune AKA kit is going to do the disclaimer today! ::shouts:: kit, get out here!! ::kit walks out dressed as a giant pixie stix:: ::kyuuka sweat drops::

kyuuka: Uh...kit?  
kit: Hi!!  
kyuuka: I won't ask.  
kit: Ask what?  
kyuuka: Never mind, the people wanna read the story so do the disclaimer, ok?  
kit: What'll you give me?  
kyuuka: kit, you're the one who wanted to do the disclaimer!  
kit: Oh, yeah...that's right! ::kit clears her throat:: kyuuka-kitsune does not own Inuyasha and his friends and enemies or anyone involved with Inuyasha, except for Okibi, I saw the picture by the way, and she looks cool! Anyway, she doesn't own Inuyasha...but she does own these pixie stix!! ::pulls out shopping cart full of bags of pixie stix and runs off with it::  
kyuuka: Hey!!! Those are my pixie stix!! kit, get back here!!!! ::kyuuka chases after kit::

Last Chapter:

There standing before him was a girl with long straight black hair tied back in a loose ponytail and brown eyes. She wore a pair of red pants and a white shirt. The one word he spoke was filled with so many different emotions that you couldn't tell if he was happy or sad. The word left his lips slowly as if time had slowed down.

"Kikyou..."

WARNING: Kikyou bashing in this chapter! Kikyou lovers do not read! Kikyou haters, this is for us!

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

****

**Chapter 6: Kikyou Killed**

"Inuyasha, I see you still remember me," remarked Kikyou with a smirk on her face.

"You're not Kikyou! You don't smell like Kikyou!" Inuyasha responded angrily. Was Naraku messing with his mind?

"Oh but Inuyasha, I am Kikyou. Naraku brought me back," she responded.

"What do you want with us?" yelled Kagome. She was pissed off that this stupid person would just try to waltz back into Inuyasha's life. Kikyou then noticed Kagome and studied her.

"So you have replaced me, have you? She may be the new protector, but she will never be anything like me, you realize this, do you not?" she said, the smile still on her lips.

"You're right, Kikyou, she won't be anything like you, and that's what I was hoping for! Why would I want her to be an ungrateful bossy bitch like you?" growled Inuyasha. Over the past 2 weeks that he had gotten to know Kagome, he'd grown rather fond (AN: Ahem, a little more than 'fond') of her, although he would never admit that to her.

"Inuyasha, have you forgotten your promise already?" questioned Kikyou, smile still in place.

Inuyasha wanted to wipe that smile off her face, it was pissing him off. "No, I promised I would never forget you, no matter what happened!" Inuyasha smirked. "But I haven't forgotten you, I remember you perfectly, from your clinginess to your want to turn me full human and now, if I'm not mistaken, you've betrayed me!"

His little speech seemed to anger Kikyou and her smile left her face. "I only betrayed you because Naraku threatened to kill me again if I didn't tell him your weakness!" she said, as if her reason was perfectly acceptable. (AN: Puh-lease, shove a sock in it, Kikyou! ::grins evilly:: Hehe, I forgot, I control her!)

"And that's a good reason?" Kagome shouted, seeing Inuyasha was too angry to say anything without ripping Kikyou to shreds. "If you're more worried about your own life than his, then why the hell are you here!?"

"I came to see if Inuyasha has been faithful to me," Kikyou replied.

"He doesn't belong to you, and as far as we can tell, he doesn't want to belong to you!"

"You are annoying me. You may be the new protector, but I'm still more powerful than you will ever be!" Kikyou shouted and pulled out a bow and arrow. While she strung the arrow, Kagome couldn't think, she was just too shocked. It wasn't until Kikyou had released the arrow and it was coming right for her that she came to her senses, but she didn't have time to move out of the way.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha yelled as he pushed her out of the way. Instead of Kagome getting hit, Inuyasha got hit on his left arm, but he pulled it out like it was nothing. It seemed that Kikyou's miko powers had been dulled since she was brought back to life. Inuyasha turned to face Kikyou and was about to say something when Kagome stood up and strung her own bow and arrow.

"You hurt Inuyasha, you bitch!" she shouted and released the arrow. (AN: Yeah, I know Kagome probably wouldn't say bitch, but it was just so tempting!) As it flew to its target, it glowed brighter than it ever had and started to pick up speed. It finally reached its target and hit Kikyou where her heart should've been (AN: But we all know she doesn't have one). Kikyou stumbled back, clutching the arrow that was embedded into her chest.

"You will always be my replacement," she whispered with her last breath as she died. A black shadow surrounded her body and when it was gone, only a pile of bones and dirt were in its place. Kagome looked back at everyone. The first person she noticed was Inuyasha who was still staring at the pile of bones and dirt. She walked up to him, slowly and dropped her bow and arrows.

"Inuyasha...Inuyasha, are you alright?" she asked silently. Inuyasha looked down at her, his amber eyes filled with...concern? Why was he concerned about her? He was the one who got hit with an arrow!

He nodded. "I'm fine, Kagome." And then he pulled her into a tight embrace. At first Kagome was tense, after all, it was the first time he had hugged her, but then she relaxed and hugged him back.

"I was so worried about you, Kagome. When Kikyou shot that arrow, all I could think was that I didn't want to lose you," he whispered into her hair. Kagome smiled.

"I was worried about you too! When you took that arrow for me, I was so afraid I'd never be able to talk to you or sit you anymore!" she said jokingly. Unfortunately, her joke turned out to be a bad one, because Inuyasha came crashing to the ground and since they were hugging, he landed on top of her. He heard snickering from above him but he couldn't look up to see who it was.

"Whoever's laughing at us is gonna be dead as soon as I get up!" he growled. The snickering immediately stopped. He looked at Kagome's face. She was probably gonna kill him for this one. But oddly, she was smiling!

"What are you so happy about?" he asked.

Kagome immediately blushed and tried to hide her smile. "I...uh...n-nothing!"

As soon as he felt the spell wearing off, Inuyasha got up, although he didn't really want to (AN: ::wink, wink, nudge, nudge::) He then offered his hand to Kagome and pulled her up. He then turned to face Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.

"Which one of you was laughing!?" he growled out.

Sango and Shippo pointed to Miroku while he pointed to a tree. After realizing where he was pointing, he gulped and mentally slapped himself.

"Hehe...Inuyasha, I swear I was not laughing! I'm a monk and I would not lie to you!"

Inuyasha growled and said, "You have a ten-second head start. Now! 1...2...3..."

Realizing Inuyasha was serious, he took off running in a random direction.

"6...7...8..." Inuyasha continued.

"Run, Miroku, run!!" shouted Shippo.

"10!" and with that Inuyasha raced after Miroku. Shippo jumped onto Kagome's shoulder and Sango walked over to her as well.

"Miroku will never learn will he, Kagome?" wondered Shippo.

"No, I don't think he will. Tough break, Sango," Kagome replied.

"What do you mean 'tough break'!? I don't like him Kagome!" she yelled.

"I never said you did, but now that you mention it..." Kagome started and saw the look on Sango's face. She took that as her cue to run.

----Some time later, at Myouga's house----

Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku rang the doorbell to Myouga's house. They had dropped Shippo off at Inuyasha's house to play with Rin so he wouldn't have to be bored. The door opened and a short fat man answered the door. He had a gray mustache and big eyes and some gray hair above his ears. He had a rather pointy nose. He reminded Kagome of a flea.

"Ah, you must be the applicants," he said.

"Yeah, that's us all right," Inuyasha said.

"Come in, and find a seat on the couch. I'm just finishing up with another applicant."

They all followed the old man in and entered the living room. There was a guy about their age sitting there. He had pointy ears, long black hair put up in a high ponytail and striking blue eyes. He also had a wolf tail. He looked up as they entered the room and studied them. Myouga sat down across from him and motioned for the others to sit as well. Inuyasha sat on the couch with Myouga to his left and Kagome to his right. On the couch across from them, Sango sat on the right side of this new guy and Miroku sat to his left. After making sure everyone was comfortable, Myouga spoke.

"Ok, Kouga, I think I probably have an opening for you. I'll call you to let you know for sure."

Kouga only nodded and stood up to leave, but as he was leaving, he stared at Kagome. Inuyasha gave a warning growl when he saw this and Kouga growled right back and then left. Myouga then turned his attention to them.

"So you four need jobs, correct?"

They all nodded.

"Well, as you know, it's a summer camp for kids. Have you had any experience with children?"

Kagome answered first, "I have a little brother named Souta."

Sango nodded, "I have a little brother named Kohaku."

Myouga then turned to the 2 guys. "What about you two?"

"My older brother, Sesshomaru, has an adopted little girl named Rin," said Inuyasha, hoping it would be good enough experience.

"We also have a little kitsune youkai named Shippo that we take along, but he's with Rin right now," explained Miroku.

Myouga nodded and looked thoughtful. "What are your names?"

"Kagome here," Kagome said cheerfully, pointing to herself.

"Inuyasha," he said, half raising a hand.

"I'm Miroku," said Miroku, slightly bowing his head.

"Sango, that's me!" responded Sango giving a little smile.

Myouga looked at each one in turn. "Well, the pay will be minimal, but if you work hard enough, you might get a raise."

"Does that mean we're hired?" exclaimed Sango.

"No, it means I'll think about it. I'll call you tomorrow with my decision."

Sango was a little disheartened, but they got up and left anyway. Waving goodbye, they headed to the car.

"Shotgun!" shouted Kagome as she rushed to the car.

"No fair!" cried Sango, rushing after her.

"But that's my seat!" protested Miroku, following the girls.

Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome called it first, so she sits up front. Sorry, Sango, but you gotta sit with the monk."

Sango's face turned to a look of horror. "NOOOOOO!!! You can't do this to me!"

Miroku feigned a look of hurt. "Sango, you wound me!" She responded by smacking him on the head and climbing in the car. Miroku, rubbing his head, followed after her. Kagome happily climbed in the front seat and Inuyasha slid into the driver's seat. Inuyasha turned the key in the ignition and started the car.

"Where do you wanna go, guys?" he asked.

"What time is it?" asked Kagome.

"It's 4:15," responded Miroku.

"Let's go swimming," suggested Sango.

"Great idea!!" shouted Miroku.

"Oh no!" groaned Sango, but she knew that since she had suggested it, they would want to go swimming anyway. And since it was summer, it'd be great to get out of the heat. So Inuyasha sped off to each of their houses so they could change.

----Approximately 30 minutes later at swimming pool----

"Hey, guys, there's no one here!" shouted Kagome who was the first to reach the pool. Sango was walking up behind her but Inuyasha was struggling to get Miroku out of his car since Sango had again rendered him unconscious. He finally got Miroku out and locked his car. He then proceeded to slap him until he awoke.

"What do you mean, 'no one's here'?" asked Sango.

"Look for yourself, no one's here!"

Sango looked and sure enough, no one was there. Inuyasha came up behind them with Miroku following.

"That's odd," commented Miroku.

"Hey, more room for us!" shouted Inuyasha as dropped his towel onto a chair and dove in the water. He was wearing a pair of red swimming trunks and had his hair in a ponytail down by his neck. He surfaced and shouted to them.

"Come on in guys! The water's great!"

Miroku then dropped his towel on a chair next to Inuyasha's and dove in as well. He wore a pair of purple trunks, despite the laughs from Inuyasha, Sango, and Kagome. He surfaced as well and waved them in. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Sango and Kagome dropped their towels as well and jumped in. Kagome wore a green two-piece that wasn't too revealing and Sango wore a blue version. They had bought them together so they would match. They surfaced soon after and looked around for Inuyasha and Miroku. They were nowhere to be seen.

"Inuyasha...Miroku?" Kagome called out, wondering where they went. Suddenly she felt something lifting her up and found herself on Inuyasha's shoulders. She looked over at Sango. She was on Miroku's shoulders.

"Chicken Fight!!" yelled Inuyasha as he walked over to their opponent. Kagome and Sango smirked. This would be fun! They grabbed each other's arms and tried to wrestle the other off of their support, which were the guys. Kagome finally got the upper hand and managed to knock Sango off.

"Yay!! I won!! Go me! Go me!" Kagome shouted. Then Sango broke her fit of joy by pulling her down into the water as well.

"Hey!" Kagome sputtered as she broke the surface. Sango only laughed at her. Kagome then splashed Sango. Sango stopped laughing and splashed her back. The guys soon joined in and it was an all-out, every-man-for-himself water fight. After an hour or two, they were too tired to continue the fight so they called a truce. They all got out of the water and dried off and headed back to Inuyasha's car.

"Same seats!" called Kagome.

"Damnit!" griped Sango. Kagome laughed as they all got in the car.

"What now?" questioned Inuyasha.

"Let's go see a movie," suggested Miroku.

"Ok, but we have to change first," agreed Kagome.

Inuyasha nodded his head and stopped at everyone's house to change. They then drove to the mall and sat at a table to argue over which movie to see. After the arguing stopped, they finally agreed on "Big Trouble in Little China." It was a festival or something that night, so they were playing old movies. They bought the tickets and headed inside for a few hours of fun.

AN: Whew, I'm finally done. That was harder than I thought it'd be! Well, there ya go! Kagome kills Kikyou (thank god), Kouga comes into the picture and they meet up with Myouga! I got a bunch of aspects today, right Hinote and Kasai?

Hinote: Yeah, Kikyou dying was good enough for the gory part! I'm so glad you finally killed her off!  
Kasai: Yeah and after Kikyou died when they hugged! Awww, that was cute too!  
Hinote: But where was Okibi?  
Kasai: Yeah, we like Okibi!  
kyuuka: Okibi will come back, don't worry! I happen to like Okibi too! After all, I invented her! Okay, time for Reviewer Responses!!

**fairy-fan**- I don't know if I can convince the fairy to come back, but I'll do my best! Anything to make a reviewer happy!!

**Serenity**- I'm glad to have a reviewer like you! Reviewing all my chapters, how nice! And of course I'll keep writing, this story's not gonna finish itself!

**INU'S GIRL!**- Well, Inuyasha stopped thinking of Kikyou in this chapter! Hehe, I killed her!! Hehe, I feel so powerful!

**crazy-kitsune**- Glad you loved last chapter! And good job with the disclaimer today! Hehe, I killed Kikyou!

**megan-kitty**- Course I told Kikyou off, she's a bitch and I hate her! Hehe, and now I killed her! Yep, Inu/Kag rocks! And I'm glad you love my story!

**CrystallineX**- Yeah, I probably should take it a little slower, and yes, please do read on and keep reviewing, it makes me feel special!

Well, that's all for reviewers! Oh, and Big Trouble in Little China is a real movie! I love it, it's funny! There was a mistake yesterday with my email address. It's supposed to be red dragon522hotmail.com with an underscore between red and dragon. Sorry, people, my fault! Review Review Review!!! Please? Ok, bye!


	7. Food Fight

AN: Ah, it feels good to write 2 stories. Yup, that's right. Kyuuka started another story called 'A Mistake Gone Right' early this morning and she already has good reviews! I feel so special!

Disclaimer: Back by popular demand is Jamin AKA Joe the Fairy!! He agreed he'd do this chapter, so here is! ::Jamin steps out in his fairy costume::

Jamin: Do I have to do another poem?  
kyuuka: Nope, just the disclaimer, k?  
Jamin: Ok! Ty-I mean, kyuuka does not own Inuyasha and gang, he and everyone else belong to Rumiko Takahashi! Is that good?  
kyuuka: Yeah, but don't forget Okibi!  
Jamin: Oh yeah! Okibi, who is not in this chapter, belongs to kyuuka-kit! Can I go?  
kyuuka: Yup, have fun! ::Jamin runs off, waving his wand in the air and trying to work his fairy wings::

Last Chapter:

Inuyasha nodded his head and stopped at everyone's house to change. They then drove to the mall and sat at a table to argue over which movie to see. After the arguing stopped, they finally agreed on "Big Trouble in Little China." It was a festival or something that night, so they were playing old movies. They bought the tickets and headed inside for a few hours of fun.

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 7: Food Fight**

Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings. She noticed she was on the floor, along with three other people. There was a TV on the far wall and a couch behind her. There was a coffee table to her immediate left and she realized she was in a living room. Not hers, but someone else's. She struggled with her brain to remember what had happened last night. Then she finally remembered, after the movie was over they decided to crash at Miroku's. Kagome glanced around again. There were various food items and candy wrappers and soda cans littering the floor. Before they crashed, they decided to have a snack. Kagome giggled softly to herself. Last night was a blast.

----Flashback----

"Oi, monk, do you have any food or soda in this place?" Inuyasha asked, flopping down on the couch and searching for the remote.

"Yeah, what do you guys want?" Miroku asked from the kitchen.

"Chips and dip!" shouted Kagome, sitting down next to Inuyasha.

"Pixie Stix!!!" shouted Sango louder than Kagome as she sat on the other end of the couch. Inuyasha and Kagome looked over at her and sweat dropped. "What?" she asked. "I love Pixie Stix!" Inuyasha and Kagome looked over at each other and shrugged.

"Get some ice cream and Airheads and ramen and Mountain Dew and Starburst..." Inuyasha rattled off, counting on his fingers. It was Kagome and Sango's turn to look at each other and sweat drop. After finishing his long list of items, Inuyasha paused. "You got all that, monk?" Miroku came into the living room, his arms full of everything Inuyasha had asked for, along with Kagome and Sango's stuff, and some stuff he wanted, too. As he walked over to the coffee table to put the stuff down, he tripped on the remote Inuyasha had been looking for and everything flew into the air and finally landed on the three people sitting on the couch.

"Miroku!!" Inuyasha growled out angrily.

"I'm fine, thank you," Miroku said, glaring daggers at Inuyasha.

"Feh!" was all Inuyasha said before searching through the items that now littered the couch for the stuff he asked for. Sango had begun searching for the Pixie Stix and Kagome was searching for the chips and dip. Kagome saw that her food was sitting on Inuyasha's lap. She reached for it, but something pushed her and she fell, face-first, into Inuyasha's lap. She heard laughing behind her and saw Sango laughing her ass off. She was about to get up and chase after her best friend but a voice stopped her.

"If you wanted to lay in my lap that bad, you could've just asked," smirked Inuyasha. Kagome's cheeks burned red as she raised herself off of Inuyasha's lap. Her face was now right in front of Inuyasha's. She blushed even more. She locked gazes with Inuyasha and she could see the slight tilt of his head as he began to close the distance between their faces.

"I hate to interrupt you two love birds, but I want my Pixie Stix," said Sango, standing in front of them. Kagome quickly pulled her head back and tried to hide her blush. Inuyasha grumbled and handed her the Pixie Stix which she took gleefully and began to do a victory dance.

"Who wants to play a game?" asked Miroku from his seat on the floor.

"I do!" shouted Kagome and Sango simultaneously.

"Might as well," Inuyasha said. "Wait, what are we playing?" When he saw Miroku grin, he knew what was coming.

"Spin the Bottle!" he said nonchalantly.

"Hell no!" responded Sango.

"No? Ok, how about Seven Minutes in Heaven?" he asked.

"NO!" Kagome all but yelled.

"Truth or Dare?" he suggested. Kagome and Sango were about to yell no when they both looked at each other and got an evil glint in their eyes.

"Ok!" they both said and situated themselves on the floor. Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. He was sure they would've said no...unless...unless they had an evil plan being concocted in their minds. He sighed. At least it would be interesting.

"All right, let's play," said Inuyasha as he left his spot on the couch to sit on the floor with everyone else.

"I'll start," Miroku said, "since I suggested it." Everyone nodded their agreement and he began his turn. "Hmmmm, Sango! Truth or dare?" he asked. She gulped, but always up for a challenge she chose dare. "I dare you to...kiss me!" he said while puckering his lips.

"No kissing, you hentai!" she shouted. He feigned a look of hurt.

"Then what's the point of playing truth or dare?" he argued.

"We didn't agree to play to be able to kiss you! We're playing for fun, no kissing!" she stated while crossing her arms over her chest.

Miroku sighed in defeat. "Fine..." he grumbled as he began to think of another dare. A mischievous glint came to his eyes as he looked as charming as he could as he looked at Sango who glaring at him. When she saw him smiling at her, she blushed. "I dare you to sit on my lap for 10 minutes!" Sango looked at Kagome as if asking her to save her from the lecher.

"Don't look at me, Sango! Consider it payback for what you did earlier!" Kagome stated happily. Sango sighed in defeat as she made her way over to the hentai.

"No groping!" she commanded as she sat down in his lap. "Who's keeping time?" she asked.

"I will!" shouted Miroku earning a smack from Sango.

"No way! Kagome you take time!" Sango ordered as she passed her a stopwatch. Kagome nodded and pressed a few buttons before looking up at Sango expectantly.

"Oh right, it's my turn now," she remembered and looked at everyone before her eyes landed on Kagome. Kagome flinched under her gaze, knowing what to expect.

"Kagome, truth or dare?" Sango asked as sweetly as ever. Kagome gulped.

"Truth!" she stated firmly. Sango sighed.

"Wuss," she mumbled before thinking up a question. "Okay, if someone had to kiss you right now, who would you want it to be?" she asked.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, not being able stop herself. She gasped and covered her mouth. She looked over at said hanyou. He was blushing and staring at her. Sango's laughing tore Kagome's eyes away from him.

"It's your turn, Kagome!" she managed between her laughter.

"Uh...Miroku, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Miroku responded instantly. Kagome's eyes lit up with joy.

"I dare you to sit on Sango's lap for 15 minutes after her 10 minutes are up!"

Miroku's eyes lit up with joy as well. "Consider it done!" he said. Sango glared at her friend and Kagome smiled an evil smile.

"Inuyasha, truth or dare?" Miroku asked his friend.

"Dare," Inuyasha said smugly.

"I dare you to kiss Kagome!"

"I said no kissing!" Sango said.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong!" he said, grinning. "You said 'No kissing, you hentai!' which can interrupted as 'No kissing you, hentai!'" he stated.

Kagome gulped, he was right. Inuyasha looked at her and turned to face him as well. Inuyasha scooted over to her and locked gazes with her. The space between their lips slowly closed as Inuyasha's lips brushed over Kagome's. He pulled away slightly and looked in her eyes. They were just so beautiful. He leaned in again, hoping to have a more passionate kiss. Their lips met again and they closed their eyes. Inuyasha leaned in further, deepening the kiss. They broke when they heard a loud "Beep, Beep, Beep..." Kagome looked around to identify the sound that interrupted her. It was the stopwatch. Kagome looked at Sango and smiled.

"Time's up. It's your turn, Miroku!" she said. Sango grumbled and sat on the floor. Miroku sat down in her lap.

"Kami, Miroku, you weigh a ton!" she complained.

"You wound me Sango!" he said feigning pain and clutching his chest over his heart. He then looked over at Inuyasha with a devious smile. "It's your turn, dog-boy."

Inuyasha growled but smirked soon after. "Miroku choose."

"Dare."

Inuyasha looked around the room, his eyes resting on the ice cream Miroku had brought up. He got up and went into the kitchen to grab a spoon before coming back out and grabbing the carton of ice cream. He sat down and placed the items before the confused monk. "I dare you to feed Sango this ice cream!" he said while smirking. Sango's face paled and Miroku stared at him like he had just grown another head. He grabbed the ice cream and spoon. He took the lid off the half-empty carton of ice cream and turned to face Sango.

"May I?" he asked. Sango nodded, resigned to her fate. Miroku stuck the spoon into the ice cream and lifted it up, holding the full spoon before Sango's face. "Here comes the choo-choo train!" he said, shoving the ice cream into Sango's mouth. Kagome and Inuyasha rolled on the floor, laughing their heads off. Miroku soon finished his task as the stopwatch went off again; signaling Miroku had finished both dares. He reluctantly got up from Sango's lap and returned to his original spot.

"It's my turn, right?" he wondered out loud. Everyone nodded. "Kagome, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she replied.

"I dare you to feed this to Inuyasha," he said, placing a bowl of ramen in front of her. She did as was told, but suddenly something brushed her rear. She turned around to yell at Miroku, spilling ramen on Inuyasha as she did. She heard a growl and looked at Inuyasha who had ramen all over him. She stifled her laughter.

"I'm sorry!" she said, but broke into fits of laughter. Inuyasha picked up the nearest thing to him, which happened to be a 2-liter of Mountain Dew, and poured it on Kagome. Kagome sputtered as the liquid got all over her. This time Inuyasha laughed. Sango, seeing her friend's plight, grabbed a nearby sandwich and chucked it at Inuyasha. Inuyasha wiped the sandwich off his face and grabbed a can of peanuts and threw them at Sango, but she ducked and they hit Miroku. Soon an all-out food fight began and the four teens were laughing and throwing food and having fun. Soon, though, everyone got tired and they pretty much just collapsed and fell asleep.

----End Flashback----

Kagome smiled softly to herself as the night's events raced through her mind. That was probably the most fun she'd had in a long time. She felt someone shift beside her and she looked to see who it was. It was Inuyasha. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and stretched.

"Morning sleepy-head," Kagome said, smiling at him. Inuyasha looked at her and smiled back.

"Good morning, sunshine," he replied. Kagome and he both laughed at their stupidness. "Guess those two aren't awake yet?" he asked. Kagome shook his head and leaned back against the couch.

"We have to get them to hook up," she said absent-mindedly.

"You read my mind," Inuyasha said, sitting next to Kagome. She looked at him when she felt him sit down. Then she slowly reached her hands up to pet his ears. Inuyasha growled/purred when Kagome rubbed his ears. She stopped when she heard him. She looked at him, but he had his eyes closed. She resumed rubbing his ears and Inuyasha slowly leaned against her and soon his head fell into her lap. Kagome blushed but continued rubbing his ears. Soon she heard light snoring and looked at the hanyou in her lap. He looked so content and happy. He had a smile on his face as he slept. She stopped rubbing his ears and absently ran her fingers through his silky-soft hair. She began to feel tired and she bowed her head as she slowly fell asleep again, her hand still in his hair.

AN: Hey, sorry it's so short, but that's all I could think of for now and I really wanted to update today! I started another story called 'A Mistake Gone Right' and I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out! Thank ya bunches! Also, if you wanna talk to me, my AIM screen name is CapnCalicoJack74. I'm usually online unless my computer has problems, which happens more frequently than I'd like. Again, sorry it's short! Reviewer Response time!!

**Serenity-** Course I updated! ::hugs ya back:: Good, I like it when people talk to me!

**crazy-kitsune**- Yup, Kikyou died!! I'm so happy! I put Pixie Stix in just to make ya happy! Hehe.

Well, that's all for reviewers! Remember to check out my other story and catch ya later!


	8. Sad Story

AN: Well I'm pleased with how both of my stories are going! One of my faithful reviewers, Serenity, wanted to do the disclaimer, so I'm gonna let her! One of the ups of being a reviewer! ::wink, wink, nudge, nudge:: Anyway, tally ho!!

Disclaimer:  
kyuuka: Ok Serenity, you ready?  
Serenity: Yep!  
kyuuka: Ok, go ahead!  
Serenity: ::clears throat:: kyuuka-kit doesn't own Inuyasha and gang, but she does think Inuyasha and Miroku are hot!  
kyuuka: Serenity...  
Serenity: Oh yeah, and she owns Okibi, who has a big appearance in this chapter! And she owns her muses, Hinote and Kasai who she hasn't seen in a while.  
Hinote: We're right here!  
Kasai: Yeah!  
kyuuka: Where've you guys been?  
Hinote: We took a little vacation.  
Kasai: Yeah, we figured you were fine on your own!  
kyuuka: Well I did get some writer's block, but I guess I did ok.  
Serenity: Is the disclaimer done now?  
kyuuka: Oh yeah, you can read the story now! Hehe.

Last Chapter:

Kagome blushed but continued rubbing his ears. Soon she heard light snoring and looked at the hanyou in her lap. He looked so content and happy. He had a smile on his face as he slept. She stopped rubbing his ears and absently ran her fingers through his silky-soft hair. She began to feel tired and she bowed her head as she slowly fell asleep again, her hand still in his hair.

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 8: Sad Story**

Kagome awoke when a flash blinded her and she heard annoying laughing. She opened her eyes and looked at where the intruding light came from. She saw Sango laughing uncontrollably and Miroku holding a camera, also laughing. She then noticed how warm she is and looked at her position. Her and Inuyasha had somehow gotten on the couch and became entangled with each other. Her eyes widened in shock as she struggle to get out of his grasp, only causing more laughing to emit from Sango and Miroku. She didn't succeed in getting free, but she did wake Inuyasha up. She gulped as he stared confusedly at her. When he finally realized the position they were in, he struggled to get up as well. Their struggling caused them to fall off the couch and landed with Inuyasha on top of Kagome. He stopped struggling when he looked into her eyes. He could get lost in her eyes. He didn't know that Kagome was thinking the same thing about him. They were in their own little world when a very loud 'ahem' sounded and they looked up. Sesshomaru was now standing there, his face still in a stoic gaze. Inuyasha quickly got off Kagome and helped her up.

"If you're quite done, Inuyasha, we have a problem," Sesshomaru started, glaring at his little brother.

"What is it?" asked Inuyasha.

"It appears Naraku and his gang have made their first move."

"What? What do you mean?" asked a startled Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru responded by flipping on the TV to a news station where a report was being given.

"We are here live, in Tokyo with anchor Raiu Hisame. Raiu, what's going on down there?" The scene switched to a view of a guy in front of a shrine with 2 people fighting fiercely in the background.

"Oh Kami!" Kagome shouted, "That's my house!!" Inuyasha turned to look at her. Naraku must have been looking for Kagome. They continued to watch and listen intently to the TV.

"Thanks Ame, I'm here at the Higurashi shrine where two demons seem to have gone berserk!" The scene zoomed in to look at the two fighting demons. One had black hair up in an elegant bun with feathers in it. She had crimson eyes and wore elegant clothes and carried a fan. She raised her fan and brought it down swiftly, causing the wind to blow fiercely towards the other fighter. This fighter was recognized immediately by Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Okibi!" they shouted together, causing the others to turn and look at them.

"This is the kitsune youkai you encountered?" questioned Miroku. They nodded and they all focused their attention back to the screen. Okibi was smirking as she reached down and grabbed her nun chucks and swiftly spun them in front of her, canceling the other youkai's attack.

"Wait a minute, is that...Kagura?" asked Inuyasha, finally recognizing the other youkai. Miroku nodded in agreement.

"It is her. Is Okibi strong enough to stand her ground against Kagura?" asked Miroku.

"I don't know," shrugged Inuyasha. They continued watching, hoping against hope that Okibi was a good fighter (AN: of course she's good, I made her!!).

Before Kagura could make another move, Okibi put away her nun chucks and pulled out the sword hanging from her left shoulder. She raised it high in the sky and it seemed to get longer. Then lightning struck it and a green flame enveloped it. Then suddenly the camera went out and the screen went snowy.

"Come on, we gotta get over there, now!" Inuyasha yelled, starting for the door.

"But how are we gonna get there in time?" asked Kagome.

"Like this!" he said as he grabbed her and put her on his back before running out the door, leaving a group of confused people behind, even Sesshomaru whose expression still didn't change.

Inuyasha leapt over rooftops, seemingly flying as he raced to Kagome's house. Upon reaching their destination, Kagome climbed off Inuyasha and backed away, not wanting to get involved in the fight. Okibi and Kagura were still in the same spots as before, only Kagura was clutching a bleeding arm and Okibi was smirking more than ever but still holding her flaming sword. When she noticed Inuyasha and Kagome she spoke without taking eyes off Kagura.

"It's about time you got here! And here I was thinking you wouldn't get any of the action!"

"How did you..." Inuyasha started but was interrupted by Okibi.

"Hold all questions until after the lesson!" she said, chancing a glance over at Inuyasha. "Where's your sword?" she asked.

"What sword? I don't have a sword!" he yelled.

"You don't have the Tetsusaiga?" she questioned.

"Oh, you mean the sword I wanted to buy at that one shop! I don't have enough money for it," he responded somewhat sadly.

Okibi rolled her eyes before tossing him the sword that hung on her waist. Inuyasha caught the sword and examined it. "Take this for now. It's called Kaen, treat it with respect!" she yelled, turning back to Kagura. Inuyasha nodded and got in a fighting stance, much like Okibi's.

Okibi growled at Kagura and asked, "Why are you here?"

Kagura smirked. "You should know the answer to that one, Okibi. You know how Naraku is; after all, you were in this gang as well."

Okibi growled even more and Inuyasha stared dumbly at her. "You were in Naraku's gang?" he asked, suspicion tainting his voice.

"Key word, 'was', but I regret it! You know as well as I that Naraku tricked me into joining!" she yelled the last part at Kagura.

"You could have refused, you didn't have to save your family," Kagura replied smugly.

"If I had known he was going to kill my family anyway, I never would have joined and you know that!"

"He needed you, but you needed persuasion. You're a rare youkai to come across," she replied.

"What does she mean by that," asked a curious Inuyasha.

Okibi sighed. "I'm only ¾ youkai which means I'm still as strong as a full youkai but have human emotions and can control my youkai side," she explained. Inuyasha nodded in understanding. He wanted to ask her about her family, but they had a wind demon to destroy.

"What do you say we get rid of this smell piece of crap?" asked Inuyasha, smirking very similar to Okibi's.

"I say that's a great idea," her smirk returned as she replied.

They both charged at the same time, their swords raised as they prepared to strike. But Kagura had different plans. She pulled a feather out of her hair and threw it and jumped on as it grew bigger. She flew away, not once looking back. With just Okibi alone, she might have been able to handle it, but with both Okibi and Inuyasha she didn't stand a chance and she knew it.

Okibi and Inuyasha stopped mid-strike as they watched Kagura leave. "Oh well, maybe another day," sighed Okibi as she gave a quick slice through the air with her flaming sword. The flames went out and it shrunk to its original size. She studied it before slipping it back into its sheath on her back. She turned to Inuyasha. "Can I have Kaen back now, please?" she asked, holding out her hand. He gave it to her and she expertly spun it around in her hands before sheathing it. "Well, I guess I'm no longer needed. I'll be going now," she said as she prepared to leave.

"Wait," said Inuyasha. Okibi turned around.

"What?" she asked genuinely confused.

"How'd you get involved with Naraku?" he asked as Kagome came over to stand beside him. Okibi sighed.

"It's kind of a long story..." she trailed off.

"Go on," urged Kagome. Okibi shook her head and smiled.

"I can't stay around long, cops will be looking for me because they'll want answers about our little brawl," she explained.

"You can hang out at my place," suggested Inuyasha. Okibi's face brightened.

"Really? You'll let me stay?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, you just so happened to save my family," answered Kagome.

"All right, I'll stay, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to stay for long," she agreed.

"Can you keep up with me?" asked an arrogant Inuyasha.

Okibi smirked. "I sure as hell can!" she answered confidently.

"Fine then, follow me!" he said as he grabbed Kagome and made sure she was securely on his back before taking off. Okibi ran after him, easily keeping up to his quick pace. Inuyasha looked to his left only to see a yawning Okibi. She was making fun of him! 'I'll show her!' thought Inuyasha as he sped faster over the rooftops. Okibi noticed his change in pace immediately and quickened hers to match his. She looked over at him, locking gazes. She stuck her tongue out, put her thumbs in her ears and waved her fingers. Inuyasha growled. No way was anyone going to beat him, especially not a girl! He quickened his pace, pushing past his limits and knew he wouldn't be able to go any faster. Okibi matched his pace, glanced over and winked at him before speeding ahead of him, leaving him far behind.

"You don't know the way!" Inuyasha yelled to her.

"I can smell my way there!" he heard her faintly shout back to her. He finally lost sight of her and he decided to slow down a bit. He looked behind him at Kagome. She had her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She looked so content. He smiled to himself as he faced ahead again, seeing his house. He jumped down and walked through the door, seeing Okibi on the couch chatting happily to Sango and Miroku who were also on the couch. Apparently they came over during the fight, along with Sesshomaru who was standing in a corner, not looking too happy...but then again, when did he ever look happy? Inuyasha let Kagome down and they walked over to the group. Okibi looked up.

"What took ya so long?"

Inuyasha just growled in response.

"Ooooh, tes-ty!" she said, getting another growl in response. "I'm just talking to your friends. Miroku is such a flatterer!" she said, getting a growl, not from Inuyasha, but Sango. Okibi leaned to whisper in Miroku's ear. "Although you really shouldn't do that to other girls in front of the one you love," she said, referring to Sango. Sango and Kagome looked on in confusion since they hadn't heard what she said. Inuyasha, however, did hear and he chuckled softly to himself. Miroku blushed and Okibi laughed at him and slapped him playfully in the back, effectively knocking the wind out of him.

"Anyway..." Kagome started, trying to change the subject. "Were you going to tell us about your family?" she asked.

Okibi stopped laughing and developed a serious look. She nodded as she motioned for everyone to gather around and get comfortable. When she noticed that Sesshomaru was still standing, she gave him a sit-down-or-die look. He complied, choosing to push Miroku off the couch and effectively taking his spot. Miroku sat down on the floor next to Inuyasha. When she saw that everyone was ready and listening she opened her mouth to begin, but in charged Rin and Shippo.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" yelled Rin, jumping into his lap at the same time that Shippo yelled "Kagome!" and sat in her lap. Okibi smiled when she saw the two children.

"Do you guys wanna hear a story?" she asked.

They both nodded their heads vigorously.

"Okay!" she began. "Once upon a time, there was a kitsune youkai daddy named Kanan and a kitsune hanyou mommy named Takibi. Well, Kanan and Takibi had a daughter named Okibi. Okibi was only ¾ youkai, but she was very strong and very powerful. When Okibi was 3, Takibi and Kanan had a baby boy named Houka. Now, Houka was strong too, but for some reason Okibi seemed to be stronger. Kanan and Takibi guessed it was because since she was first-born that she had most of their powers passed down to her. So Okibi and Houka had very wonderful parents. And then, when Okibi was 5 and Houka was 2, they got another baby brother named Kaji. He too, was nowhere near as strong as Okibi, but they were all happy anyway. Well when Okibi was 12, a man approached her. This man had long, black hair and was very evil. His name was Naraku. Well he had heard that Okibi was a very powerful youkai, so he had to see for himself. So he sent some of his minions to attack her. She defeated them very easily and this surprised Naraku. He had a proposition for her. He told her that unless she joined his gang, he would kill her mother and father and two brothers. Well Okibi didn't want anything to happen to her family so she immediately agreed, not knowing the consequences. Well after she agreed to Naraku, he made her do evil things. He made her kill innocent people, but since she had human emotions, she felt awful about it. One day after being in Naraku's gang for 2 years, she was sent to kill someone very special to her. She didn't want to kill him, so she hesitated. She formed a plan with the person that she would rough him up a bit and he would pretend to be dead. Happy with their arrangement, she went back to Naraku who seemed very angry. He had found out about her plan and confronted her. She retaliated, saying she had no desire to do his dirty work. He beat her and threatened her family until she gave in, saying she would do as he desired. But Naraku wasn't convinced. He decided to kill her family because he was afraid she would retaliate again. He didn't realize, however, that by killing her family, she had no reason to stay in his gang, so she left. She was only 14 and she had nowhere to go, but she knew she would somehow survive and get avenge her family's death. So she's been training every day to get even stronger and now she's 16 and makes it a habit to know Naraku's plans to be able to counter them," she ended her story.

There was a long silence followed by more silence. Soon the silence became unbearable even to Okibi.

"Got anything to eat?" she asked cheerfully. More silence.

"Did you really go through all that?" asked Kagome quietly. Okibi nodded, still smiling. Kagome wondered how she could be able to tell them her life story without shedding a single tear and then afterwards smile about it. She was about to voice her question when someone else did.

"How are you always smiling?" asked Inuyasha. It wasn't really fair of him to ask since they only really met her today, but she just seemed like a smiling type of person.

Okibi laughed. "Why not? Moping around isn't going to bring them back. Besides, they wouldn't want to see me moping and crying all the time," she explained.

They all nodded in agreement, all but Sesshomaru anyways. They all understood her reason. Inuyasha had lost his mother and father, Miroku lost his father and grandfather, Sango lost her father and brother, Shippo lost his parents as well as Rin and Kagome lost her father. (AN: Is it just me, or does it seem like there are absolutely no fathers on this show?) The phone rang and Inuyasha got up to get it.

"Hello?...Yes, this is Inuyasha...Oh, hi!...Really?...Yeah, I'll tell them...Tomorrow should be fine...See ya then!...Bye!" He hung up the phone and turned around to the interested spectators. He smiled and paused a while longer before making his announcement.

"We got the jobs!"

AN: Well, there it is; chapter 8! It is the 8th one, right? Oh well, I can't remember! Hehe. You got to hear about Okibi's past and some of her fighting abilities! Of course that's not all her fighting abilities, silly! If you still wanna see a picture, just review with your email address and I'll send it ASAP! And don't forget to check out my other story! Reviewer Responses!

**FlameofShadows**- I'm glad you like both of my stories and I'm glad you reviewed both too! I love it when reviewers make me feel special!

**crazy-kitsune-** Glad I made ya happy! Yeah, I love food fights too! Here's the next chappie!!

Well, that's all for now! Remember to review, please! Catch ya later!


	9. Marker Madness

AN: Well, in my last chapter, my muses decided to come back...but then they decided to leave again. So I wrote the 3rd chapter to A Mistake Gone Right without them. But they decided to come back for a little while and they gave me a vague idea of what to write, so I hope it turns out good...it should, though...right, Hinote and Kasai??

Hinote: It'll be the best chapter we've ever written!  
Kasai: Yeah, you better be grateful you have us!  
kyuuka: Guys, you left me!!  
Hinote: ::shrugs:: We were tired of your sucky writing.  
Kasai: And your inability to think properly.  
Hinote: But we're here now, aren't we?  
Kasai: We sure are, and this should be a good chapter...unless you interfere.  
kyuuka: Fine, I'll stay out of the way...but this is my story! What should I do, just stand here?  
Hinote: Make yourself useful...  
Kasai: And do the disclaimer.  
kyuuka: ::sighs: Fine, but if this chapter sucks, I'm rewriting it!

Disclaimer: ::kyuuka enters and steps up to a microphone:: Hello, I know you all wanted me to write another chapter, but Hinote and Kasai decided to take over for me. And as you all know, neither I, nor my imaginary muses, Hinote and Kasai, own Inuyasha and friends. They strictly belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Okibi and those sorry excuses for muses...did I just rhyme? ::a giant pencil hits kyuuka in the head as a shout is heard::

Hinote: Just do the disclaimer, already, will ya?  
kyuuka: ::sigh:: Well, I guess that's it. Please enjoy this lovely chapter that Hinote and Kasai have written.

Before I go on, I noticed I made a big mistake in my last chapter. I had said that Sango had lost her father and brother, but I also said she has a little brother named Kohaku. For the sake of the story, Kohaku is still alive, along with Sango's mother, but her father and a different brother were killed. I really wish I caught that earlier or I had a beta reader. If you do want to be my beta reader, just review and tell me, ok? Thanks, I'm really sick of all these stupid mistakes I make!

Last Chapter:

"Hello?...Yes, this is Inuyasha...Oh, hi!...Really?...Yeah, I'll tell them...Tomorrow should be fine...See ya then!...Bye!" He hung up the phone and turned around to the interested spectators. He smiled and paused a while longer before making his announcement.

"We got the jobs!"

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 9: Marker Madness**

"We got the jobs!?" repeated an excited Kagome.

"Yeah, we got the jobs. We have to be at the camp tomorrow at 8:00 AM. He said we could enroll Shippo and Rin. He also said that if you wanted to, Souta and Kohaku could enroll as well." Inuyasha explained.

Kagome and Sango looked at each other and smiled. They nodded their heads and turned back to Inuyasha.

"So we just have to bring them when we meet at the camp tomorrow?" questioned Sango. Inuyasha nodded and the girls gave shouts of joy. Inuyasha wondered why they were so happy. If he had a little brother, he wouldn't want him to be at his place of work all the time.

"Where are you guys working at?" interrupted Okibi.

"Oh, we're working at a summer camp," explained Kagome.

Okibi's eyes sparkled as she asked, "Can I come too!? Can I, can I, can I, can I, can I?" she pleaded.

"I suppose you could come. You might not be able to work there, but it's something to keep from being bored," suggested Miroku.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Okibi shouted as she engulfed Inuyasha, Miroku, Kagome, and Sango in a group hug.

"You're...wel-welcome..." Inuyasha managed to choke out as Okibi released them from her death grip.

"So what time do we have to be there? I have to make sure I'm ready!"

"We have to be there at eight in the morning. But, Okibi, where...where are you staying at?" pondered Kagome.

Okibi looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded her head, as if coming to a decision. "Well, I usually just sleep out in the feudal replica area. It's got great trees for sleeping and sometimes I'm allowed to sleep in one of the huts!" Okibi explained.

"The feudal replica area? Isn't that where we first saw you?" asked Inuyasha.

"It sure is!" exclaimed Okibi as she let out a loud laugh.

"Why don't you stay at my house?" questioned Kagome. "It'll be great, and we can go there together."

Okibi looked thoughtful for a minute as she put her index finger up to her chin. She then broke out a wide smile and lowered her finger. "Okay!"

"Great!" Kagome said, smiling back. Sesshomaru looked on in disgust. This Okibi was greatly annoying him. He stood up and walked to his room, leaving the five teens with Shippo and Rin (AN: Nope, I haven't forgotten about them!). Shippo cleared his throat, gaining their attention.

He paused for a moment as they all stared at him. "What is going on!?" he yelled.

"We have jobs at a summer camp for kids," said Sango, smiling.

Shippo's and Rin's eyes widened with happiness. "Can we come too!?" they both asked at the same time.

"Of course you can come!" stated Kagome. Rin and Shippo shouted for joy, much like Kagome and Sango had earlier.

"Well, guys, it's only 12:53, and we have nothing to do today. Why don't we do something fun?" Inuyasha suggested.

"Ooh, ooh! Let's go bowling!" shouted Sango.

"Yeah, bowling's always fun!" agreed Okibi.

"Okay, bowling it is!" Kagome said.

"Okay, I'm gonna write a note to Sesshomaru to tell him where we are. If we don't and he sees that Rin is gone, he'll be pissed off," explained Inuyasha, grabbing a nearby marker and pad of paper. He began to write when he noticed Kagome looking over his shoulder.

"What do you want, wench?" he asked, turning around and accidentally marking her face with the purple marker. Kagome gasped and Inuyasha laughed hysterically. "You look like Hitler!" he managed between laughs. Kagome looked around and noticed that everyone else was holding in their laughter as well.

"Inuyasha you are soooo dead!!" shouted Kagome, lunging at him. He moved out of the way in time and she hit the floor. She stood up while growling. Then she lunged at him again and this time got a direct hit as she wrestled him to the floor and sat on him. She reached for the marker, but he pulled away. After a couple of minutes of trying to get the marker from Inuyasha, she finally grabbed his wrist and pulled the marker away from him and held it menacingly over his head.

"What are you doing!?" he shouted, fear apparent in his shaky voice. Kagome only smirked and tried to draw on his face, but his hands were free and he kept shoving her hands away. She caught one of his hands in hers and put it under one of her knees as she tried to get the other hand. She finally managed to restrain that hand as well and began drawing all over his face. She laughed maniacally as she first drew little whiskers and then started erratically marking his face. He managed to free one of his hands and push her off of him. He stood up in a fighting stance as she did as well. He lunged at her, grabbing for the marker and managing to pull it away before he backed up in a fighting stance with a smirk on his face. Kagome was scared, but she stood her ground as everyone watched in amusement. They had somehow managed to get popcorn and began eating it while watching the marker fight.

"Go get him, Kags!" shouted Sango in encouragement.

"Yeah, you can do it!" shouted Miroku in imitation of the guy in 'The Waterboy'.

"Kick him where it hurts most!" yelled Okibi, punching her fist high into the air.

"That's not a bad idea," agreed Kagome now smirking at Inuyasha's scared face. He dropped the marker and ran for his room. Kagome ran after him, making sure to pick up the marker.

"Come on, let's follow 'em!" shouted Shippo, running after the two teens. They all ran in the direction Inuyasha and Kagome had, but found Inuyasha's room locked. They all put their ears to the door and listened intently to what was happening inside.

"Give up?" they heard Kagome ask Inuyasha.

"Never!" Inuyasha shouted back. Unseen to the uh...listeners, though, Inuyasha had pulled out a blue marker. He lunged at Kagome and they heard several crashes and thuds.

"Who do you think is winning?" questioned Rin. They all shrugged. They could only hope Kagome had gotten the upper hand. They didn't know how right they were.

Inside the room, Kagome had again managed to pin Inuyasha down and sit on him. She also managed to restrain his hands underneath her knees after gaining control of his marker as well. She now had double the ammo and a psychotic look on her face. She began to draw all over his face again when he managed to pull his arms out. When he began trying to push her off of him, she made marks all over his arms as well.

The people listening on the other side heard Inuyasha's screams and Kagome's maniacal laughter.

"I think it's safe to say that Kagome is winning," said Okibi, her ear still trained on the door.

"I wanna see what's happening!" complained Shippo. Okibi smirked.

"Okay, let me open the door," she said as she backed up. "You guys might want to move," she said. They did as they were told and backed away from the door. Then Okibi ran full force against the door, knocking it off its hinges as it fell forward with a loud thud. She wiped off her hands and smiled. "Door's open!"

When the door landed, Kagome and Inuyasha stopped mid-fight to stare at the people on the other side.

"Hi guys, who's winning?" asked an interested Miroku. They ignored the question and went back to their fight as the spectators filed in, sitting on Inuyasha's bed. Inuyasha managed to knock both markers out of Kagome's grasp and they rolled to the other side of the room. Kagome looked over at the markers and then at Inuyasha's smirking face. At first she was mad but when she examined Inuyasha's face she slowly cracked a smile and began giggling softly. Her laughter increased as she began laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes. Inuyasha looked confused now and as she slowly stopped laughing, she stood up and helped Inuyasha up as well. She dragged him to the bathroom and made him look in the mirror. The shocked expression on his face was priceless and she cracked up again. His face looked like a Picasso painting, with blue and purple streaks all over him. It was apparent that Kagome had won their little match as she only had one mark on her. She smirked and grabbed a washcloth and cleaned off the mark on her face. She then left him standing in the bathroom as she went back to his room where the others were waiting. She turned around when she heard the bathroom door shut and lock and the shower come on. She turned back to her friends.

"He might take a while, why don't we watch a movie?" she suggested, still smirking.

"Great idea!" shouted Okibi as she ran back to the living room followed by a laughing Rin and Shippo and flopped on the couch.

"We might want to put his door back up," suggested Sango, indicating the door.

Kagome smiled. "Do you think we should?"

Sango smirked and said, "Nope, let's go watch that movie." And Kagome and Sango ran back to the living room, sitting on the couch as well.

"Wait for me!" yelled Miroku as he ran after them. There were no more seats on the couch so he sat on the floor.

"Here, Miroku, take my spot!" Kagome said getting up from her spot which happened to be right next to Sango.

"No, it's ok, I'm fine on the floor," he said.

"No, I insist," Kagome said forcefully as she pushed him into her spot. Sango just glared at Kagome who stuck out her tongue.

"What movie should we watch?" asked Okibi.

"Hmmm, how about...50 First Dates?" suggested Kagome with a strange evil sparkle in her eyes.

"Yeah, that's a good movie!" shouted Sango in excitement, not knowing of Kagome's evil plan. Kagome popped in the movie and pressed start after turning on the TV. They watched the movie, laughing at all the funny parts, and awwwing at all the cute parts.

"I wish someone loved me that much!" said Sango absent-mindedly.

"Someone does love you that much," replied Miroku before he could catch himself. He gasped and covered his mouth with his hands as Sango stared at him, dumbstruck.

"W-who loves m-me that m-much?" she questioned with hope in her voice.

Miroku sighed. "Me," he muttered. Sango's face brightened.

"R-really?"

"Yes, I do," said Miroku, sadness apparent in his voice. Sango put her mouth up to his ear.

"I love you too," she whispered. Miroku looked at her in amazement before smiling. He leaned close to her and brushed his lips lightly over hers before pulling back. Sango blushed and they leaned in close for another kiss.

"Get a room you two!" shouted Inuyasha as he entered the room. They quickly pulled away from each other and blushed.

"Hey Inuyasha, you missed a spot!" yelled Kagome. He just growled and threw a pillow at her.

"Can we go bowling now?" interrupted Okibi before Kagome could retaliate with a couch pillow.

"Yeah, let's go!" agreed Shippo as they raced out to Inuyasha's car. They all followed, ready for a fun time bowling.

----2 hours later, in bowling alley parking lot----

"You cheated and you know it, Inuyasha!"

"Feh! You're just mad because I'm better than you!" Kagome rolled her eyes as she got in the car. Everyone followed suit and Inuyasha started it up. They had had a fun time bowling, even if Kagome claimed Inuyasha cheated. Inuyasha got first place, beating Kagome by only one point. Okibi came in third, followed by Sango, then Shippo, Rin, and finally Miroku. Apparently, Miroku was a terrible bowler.

Okibi yawned, "Let's just go home, guys. We have to get up early tomorrow to go to your jobs."

"It's only six o'clock," protested Inuyasha. (AN: yes, they planned on bowling at 1:00, but the marker fight lasted an hour, let's say, and the movie lasted 2 hours. Then they went bowling for 2 hours. Yeah, I know, it's kinda weird, Inuyasha taking a 2 hour shower, but uh...he fixed his door too, ok? Hehe, yeah, that works.)

"Yeah, but I'm sure we're all tired," explained Okibi, yawning again.

"Yeah, she's right," said Miroku, contagiously yawning. (AN: yes, yawns are contagious. Trust me, I know)

"Fine, I'll take you guys home," said Inuyasha. He drove for a while before pulling into a driveway.

"Bye guys," Sango said as she climbed out of the car and walked to the door. Inuyasha pulled out and continued on, dropping off Miroku. He then pulled into Kagome's driveway.

"See ya later guys!" Kagome said getting out of the car followed by Okibi.

"See ya tomorrow!" Inuyasha yelled as he sped away with only the 2 little kids to take to his house. Okibi followed Kagome into her house.

"Mom, Souta, Grandpa, I'm home!" shouted Kagome as she entered.

"Oh hi, dear," Kagome's mom said from the kitchen. "You Grandpa and Souta went fishing for a little while, but they should be home in about an hour or two," she explained as Kagome and Okibi entered the kitchen.

"Making dinner?" questioned Kagome as her mom looked up.

"Yes, dear. Oh, and who's your friend?"

"Oh yeah, Mom, this is Okibi. She's part demon, like Inuyasha. You remember him right?"

"How could I forget?" she replied cheerfully.

----Flashback----

"Hey Mom, we're going to go swimming, I gotta go change real quick!" Kagome shouted as she ran through the front door and up the stairs, leaving Inuyasha standing alone in the living room.

"Okay, dear!" Her mother replied as she walked into the living room. "Hello, there, you must be one of Kagome's friends! I'm her mother," she introduced herself as she stuck out her hand.

"Inuyasha," he replied simply, grabbing her hand and shaking it. Kagome's mom examined Inuyasha.

"Are you going to a costume party?"

"Oh, no, I'm half demon," he explained, hoping she wouldn't be scared of him. She only smiled.

"Your ears are just the cutest things!" she said while reaching up and rubbing his ears. Inuyasha tried to pull away, but it felt so good when people rubbed his ears. Kagome came down the stairs.

"Mom! He's my friend, what are you doing?" Kagome asked while removing her mother's hands from Inuyasha's ears.

"I couldn't resist, dear!" Her mother explained as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Ok, well we gotta go, I'll see you later!" Kagome yelled while pushing Inuyasha out of her house and following suit.

----End Flashback----

"Well, anyway, Okibi's going to spend the night and tomorrow we're leaving early in the morning because I got the job I told you about!" Kagome said excitedly.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, and Souta can enroll. Kohaku's going to go too, so he could have a friend!" Kagome said.

"Ok, I'll tell him when he gets home."

"Thanks Mom!" shouted Kagome as she ran upstairs, pulling Okibi with her. "This is my room," she said opening a door. "Now let's go to sleep. I don't want to be late on my first day at work!" she said. Okibi nodded and Kagome pulled out some blankets and such and laid them out on the floor. "You can pick if you want to sleep on the bed or the floor."

"I'll sleep on the floor," Okibi said happily as she dove under the blankets and closed her eyes, instantly falling asleep. Kagome smiled and turned out the light, climbing into her own bed and falling asleep almost as fast as Okibi had.

AN: Well, that's that chapter. It's the longest chapter I've written! It's over 3000 words, so feel special, people! Hinote and Kasai only wrote up to the part where Shippo and Rin shouted for joy in the beginning. Then I had to tie them up because they couldn't think of anything and wouldn't let me help, even though I had the great marker fight idea! If you're wondering how I came up with that, yesterday my brother marked me with a marker and said I looked like Hitler, so I got him back. He had marker all over him and I only had that first mark! He still claims he won...yeah right! Anyway, time for Reviewer Responses!!

**megan-kitty-** I'm glad ya luv the story and yes, Kikyou is a bitch and I hate her! Thanks for reviewing!!

**Serenity-** Yay!! The button worked!! Of course I'll let you do the disclaimer again, you review every chapter!

**crazy-kitsune-** Yeah, I think you've been mentioned at least once in every chappie! lol! Thank ya for reviewing!!

Well, that's all for now. And remember, if you want to be my beta reader, review and tell me so because I really do make more mistakes than I'd like! Review, review, review!!! Thank ya and catch ya later!!

-kyuuka


	10. Joyous Jobs

AN: Yeah, I know I haven't updated in a while...10 days already? Hehe, sorry bout that... But I sorta lost interest. Hehe, sorry. Anyway, I now have a notify list, so if you want to be notified of when I update this story you can either check out my profile that has the hyperlink or use this one:

http:kyuuka-kit. notifylist. com/ sfsfh. html

Just fill in the spaces, ok? Remember, copy, paste, fill in spaces. Copy, paste, fill in spaces! hehe, ok!! Anyway, I really don't know what I'm gonna write, but hopefully it'll be good. I re-read my story and was like, ugh, this sux. But, I'm gonna finish it. I know that so far it's only really been humor stuff and not a lot of plot, but hopefully, I'm furthering the plot in this chapter. So yeah...

Oh and I now have 28 reviews for this which has 9 chapters, and 24 for a mistake gone right which has 4 chapters. I guess the other one is better? I don't know...anyway, going on!

Disclaimer: I don't feel like doing anything special for the disclaimer today. But anyway, me no own Inuyasha and gang. There, the end.

Last Chapter:

"Thanks Mom!" shouted Kagome as she ran upstairs, pulling Okibi with her. "This is my room," she said opening a door. "Now let's go to sleep. I don't want to be late on my first day at work!" she said. Okibi nodded and Kagome pulled out some blankets and such and laid them out on the floor. "You can pick if you want to sleep on the bed or the floor."

"I'll sleep on the floor," Okibi said happily as she dove under the blankets and closed her eyes, instantly falling asleep. Kagome smiled and turned out the light, climbing into her own bed and falling asleep almost as fast as Okibi had.

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

****

**Chapter 10: Joyous Jobs**

Kagome's eyelids slowly fluttered open, adjusting to the bright light filtering through the blinds. She finally cleared her vision and saw a face right in front of her.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!" yelled Kagome, backing into a wall and closing her eyes. She heard familiar laughing and cracked one eye open to see Okibi on the floor, laughing hard. She then opened both eyes and sighed with relief.

"Don't do that, Okibi, you scared me to death!!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it!!" she managed in between laughs. "But anyway, it's 7:30 and we gotta be at the camp at 8:00, remember?" she said, finally regaining her composure.

Kagome's eyes widened. Had she really slept in that long!? She jumped out of bed and ran into the walk-in closet, coming out just as fast, dressed in new clothes. Okibi blinked her eyes stupidly. Wow, she was a fast dresser. She followed Kagome who had raced down the stairs to the kitchen. Kagome grabbed 4 cooked waffles that her mother had thoughtfully left out and threw 2 of them to Okibi who caught them skillfully. Kagome stuck one in her mouth and grabbed her brother who sitting at the table and dragged him out the front door, followed by Okibi, to a honking car. Inuyasha was sitting in the front, angrily honking the horn.

"Sorry!! So sorry!!" she shouted as she neared the car.

"It's ok, just hurry up, everyone else is already in the car," said Inuyasha. Sure enough, Miroku was in the back behind Inuyasha with Rin in his lap. Sango was to his right with Kohaku in her lap, much to her protest. Shippo was to her right, but he got out so Okibi could sit there. Okibi got in and sat Shippo in her lap. Kagome took shotgun with Souta in her lap.

"Are we all buckled up?" Inuyasha asked, turning around. He got nods as a response before he sped off, hoping to get there early to make a good impression. He easily went 20 miles over the speed limit, but luckily no cops were nearby. He made it in record time, 20 minutes. They were 10 minutes early and Okibi and Kagome had eaten their waffles in the car. The all climbed out of the car and headed through the campsite to a registration table. They recognized the boy from Myouga's house sitting there. What was his name again....oh yeah...Kouga.

Kouga looked up as the group of 9 approached (AN: Yes, 9 people can fit in a car, trust me, I've tried) and smirked.

"Hi, my name is Kouga, how may I help you today?" he recited as they stopped at the table.

Kagome spoke up, "Yeah, I'm Kagome and we're here to register the 4 little kids. Myouga said we could because we got jobs here," she explained.

"Kagome, huh? Well, Kagome," he said, standing up and walking over to her, "You're gonna be my woman," he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

Kagome tried to push him away, "Uh...no, thanks, I'm not really interested."

Kouga's grip tightened. "You're my woman now, no need to be shy."

"She said she wasn't interested, baka." Inuyasha growled.

"You don't have a claim to her so she's free for the taking."

"Excuse you!?" Kagome shouted, effectively pushing him away and backing up. "I am no one's possession, especially not yours!!" she all but screamed in his ears. Inuyasha smirked. Kouga frowned. 'Okay, Kagome. I'll let you go for now, but you will be my woman," he thought.

"Fine, just give me the kids' names so I can register them," he said, sitting back down. Okibi decided to break the tension and just give him the names so they could leave.

"This one here's Souta," she pushing him forward.

Kouga frowned, "I need first and last."

"Oh yeah, ok. This is Higurashi Souta," she said referring to the one directly in front of the table. Kouga wrote down his name and looked up, waiting for her to continue.

"This is Taiji Kohaku," she said, pointing to Sango's younger brother. Kouga wrote down his name and looked up again. "Koji Rin," she said picking up Sesshomaru's adopted daughter. Kouga wrote and looked up one more time.

"And I'm Kitsune Shippo!" said Shippo as he jumped up on the table. Kouga made a disgusted face and wrote down the kitsune's name. When he finished, he handed the name badges that he had written on to the four kids who put the stickers on their shirts. Rin put hers on upside-down and laughed. Miroku, who had been day-dreaming (AN: I don't wanna know what he was day-dreaming about!) looked to see why Rin was laughing. He noticed her nametag and peeled it off and put in on the right way. She stopped laughing and put it on upside-down again, giving Miroku a glare. He sighed and backed up, getting amusing glances from Kagome and Sango.

"Myouga's office is that way," Kouga said, gaining their attention and pointing off to the right. "I'm sure he'll want to see you," he finished. The group headed in the direction they were pointed in.

"What if Naraku tries to attack while we're here?" queried Sango. His question went unanswered but jogged Inuyasha's memory.

"Hey Okibi, when we first saw you, you said Naraku would attack when I'm weak, right? What did you mean by that?"

"Well Kikyou told Naraku your secret, remember? Well I have a tendency to find out Naraku's plans. It's been a habit since he betrayed me."

Inuyasha looked shocked. "Y-you mean...y-you kn-know a-about..." he trailed off, not able to finish his sentence. Okibi looked at him and nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone unless you want me to," she said with a smile. The group looked at the two in confusion, not knowing what they were conversing about...except Miroku, who already knew Inuyasha's secret.

They reached Myouga's office and knocked on the door. They heard a muffled "come in" and opened the door. Stepping inside, they found it was very comfortable for a cabin in the woods. There was a desk in the middle of the room with a portable TV/VCR/DVD player in a corner. Behind the desk was a large black leather chair where Myouga was sitting, sipping a cup of Starbuck's coffee. There was an air conditioning unit behind the desk as well, to keep it from getting too hot. There were two small chairs sitting across from Myouga on the other side of the desk. There was also a door to their right, which was where his bedroom and bathroom was. Miroku was the first to speak up.

"Kouga told us you would probably want to see us," he said. Myouga finally looked up from his coffee.

"Ah yes. I want to explain your jobs. Are they enrolled yet?" he questioned, referring to Shippo, Rin, Kohaku, and Souta.

"Yep," said Kagome with a smile.

"Okay, good. Toutousai, take them over to the cafeteria," he said, looking over at an old man they hadn't noticed when they were walking in. The man had big wide eyes that looked like they would pop right out of his skull. His gray hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. He had a gray pointy mustache and a wavy goatee. He was carrying what looked to be a large wooden hammer with a long, thin handle. He was a wearing a dark green and black striped kimono. He got up and bowed before leaving, ushering the kids out of the so-called cabin and left the teens alone with Myouga.

"Ok, first off...who's your friend?" he asked, noticing Okibi.

"Oi! I'm Okibi, sorry to disturb you, I'm just here because I love little kids and camping!" she said, bowing. He nodded, obviously pleased with her response and turned to the other 4 teens while Okibi straightened.

"Okay, as I was saying, I'm going to give you each a group of kids that you must watch and take care of. One of the employees just called in, they got in a small car crash because a car with too many people was speeding," he said, oblivious to the group's flinch. "So you're each going to have 3 or 4 more kids in your group, unless I can find someone else to do the job." At this, Okibi's eyes widened in joy and she shot up her hand and started chanting, "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!"

Myouga continued, ignoring Okibi. "So first, you're going to go get a list of all the registered kids from Kouga, then bring it back here so I can place the kids in groups. I'll then give each of you a schedule that you must adhere to," he said, becoming agitated at Okibi's insistent chanting in the background. When he finished she dropped to the floor and started bowing repeatedly, now chanting, "Please, oh please, oh please, oh please!"

He sighed and stared down at the pleading teen. "If I let you have a group, will you stop that annoying chanting?" Her eyes became even wider with joy.

"Yes, thank you so much!" she said standing up and brushing herself off. He then examined her.

"But I don't know if it would be a good idea with those weapons," he said uneasily.

"Oh, I swear I won't take them out in front of the kids, I know they can get scared real easy. It's just that I never take off my weapons except to sleep or shower, I know it sounds weird, but these weapons mean a lot to me," she explained with sincerity.

Myouga caved, "All right, go and get the list. I don't think it takes 5 people to walk there and back." She smiled brightly and headed out the door, leaving the four other teens. She poked her head back in a moment later and said, "I'll be back before you can say, supercalifragilistic expialidocious." and left again for the registration table.

Upon arriving, she saw Kouga packing up the nametags, pencils and things in a box. He looked up when he heard her.

"What do you want?" he asked rather harshly.

"I need the list of registered kids," explained Okibi, still smiling. He scoffed.

"Is Myouga splitting them into groups now?"

"Yep, so can I have the list please?" she asked as politely as she could with his harsh tone. He thrust the list out to her and she snatched it away. "Thanks," she said before turning around. She turned back around to face Kouga when she heard his voice.

"I might as well go with you, I have to return these supplies anyway," he said walking past her. She turned around and followed him. They walked in silence before Okibi interrupted (AN: Don't how to interrupt silence, but oh well! ).

"So, what's your name?"

He looked over at her in disgust. She was starting to get really annoying. "Kouga," he said simply, before facing forward again.

"I'm Okibi!" she said cheerfully. She loved to make new friends, even if she didn't have that many. In fact the only friends she had ever had were the boy she refused to kill for Naraku and Inuyasha and his friends.

He didn't say anything, which made Okibi uneasy. "So, what are some of your hobbies?" she asked, hoping he would talk. He ignored her question and this grated her nerves. "I'm just trying to be friendly, you could at least say something!" she said, walking ahead of him to the cabin not far off. He watched her angry form as she opened the door surprisingly calm.

When she walked in with a smile on her face, her emotions in check, she noticed Sango and Kagome now occupied the seats in front of Myouga's desk immersed in conversation. Miroku and Inuyasha were sitting side by side on the floor, leaning against a wall but both were silent. Myouga was in his chair, sipping his coffee.

"I'm back!" she said rather loudly, startling everyone in the room. She heard Inuyasha mutter, "Supercalifragilistic expialidocious" under his breath and she smirked. She walked up to Myouga's desk and set the list on it.

"Good, now this will take a while, so get comfortable and try to be quiet, please," he said while pulling out an expensive looking pen and started marking on the list. As she was sitting down against the opposite wall from Inuyasha's and Miroku's, the door opened and Kouga walked in, setting the box on Myouga's desk and turning to leave. Before he could reach the door, Myouga spoke up.

"You'll need to stay, you're going to have a group of kids as well," he said, not looking up from his paper. Kouga turned around and glared at the man and looked around the room to find a place to sit. He saw Inuyasha glaring and growling at him so glared and growled back. He need to find someplace away from that mutt-face. He looked over at Kagome and decided against sitting near her too. She was glaring at him too. He looked over at Okibi, who was smiling at him. He was confused. Wasn't she just mad at him not 2 minutes ago? He shrugged and sat down against the same wall but a couple feet away from her.

Okibi stared at him when he sat down and after a while, cleared her throat to get his attention. When he looked at her, she smiled.

"Sorry about earlier," she said quietly, "I just tend to get nervous when it gets too quiet," she explained.

Kouga was silent. He didn't know what to say to this annoying excuse for a demon. Then he noticed Okibi started fidgeting, which was more annoying than her talking.

"Running and fighting," he said. Okibi looked confusedly at him. "You asked what I like to do, I like to run and fight," he explained. She mentally slapped herself.

"Are you a fast runner?" she asked, smirking. She bet she was faster than him.

"Yeah," he said, giving a smirk equal to hers.

"Bet you're not faster than me," she said, raising her chin.

Kouga scoffed. Who did she think she was? "Bet I am," he said, lifting his chin as well. Okibi was about to retort when they were interrupted.

"Okay, I'm going to pass each of you a piece of paper with your group of kids and schedule," said Myouga, standing up with a number of papers in his hand. He began passing out the papers. When Okibi got hers, she examined it. Eat, scavenger hunt, swim, nature hike, eat, head for home. She then looked below the schedule to the list of kids. She had 6 kids. She looked at all the names. Kaboku, Amai, Reiu, Shippo, Kijo, Karuson...Hey, she got Shippo! At least she would know one kid from the group. She studied the names, most had a meaning. Kaboku meant beautiful tree. 'Beautiful tree? What kinda name is that?' She shrugged and continued her translations. Amai meant sweet, Reiu meant chilly rain, Kijo meant demoness, and Karuson meant boy. She idly wondered what these kids would be like when she was interrupted yet again.

"The kids are in the cafeteria. They're all wearing name stickers, so just find the ones on your list and explain to them that you will be their guide and to ask you if they have any questions. Be friendly and interact with them. Now, go on, there's a schedule to adhere to," he said, ushering them out the door. They silently made their way to the cafeteria, all nervous. Would their kids be sweet and adorable? Or would they be evil brats?

AN: Well, I'm done. I don't care if this was just a filler chappie, it's done, so there! ::sticks out tongue:: Don't worry, next chapter there's gonna be more action. I planned it for this chapter, but I had to explain some stuff about their jobs, so don't kill me...yet. It's the best I could do without Hinote and Kasai...ok, not really.

AHEM!! if you did not see the note above about being notified of when I update, go look at it!! Ok? good!!

NOTE FROM KYUUKA'S BETA READER:

Hey everybody this is kyuuka's beta reader crazy-kitsune. You can all call me kit! I was thinkin that Kyuuka was lacking in the a/n department so I put this here. Hehehe, love me!

You should all go and read my stories. Why? Because I said so and I'M SPECIAL!!!!!!! teehee.

BYE BYE EVERYONE!!!!!!!

AND CHEESECAKE IF YOU DON'T REVIEW THIS AND MY STORY KYUUKA AND I SHALL HAVE TO TORTURE YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I'm lacking in the AN department!! ::sigh:: But anyway, onto the reviewer responses!!

**Xessive**- Hiya, cheesecake!! I wonder why conversations with kit and me make you feel insane!? That's just weird! Coz me and her are perfectly normal! hehe, yeah right!! Thanks for reviewin!

**crazy-kitsune**- I have GOOD a/n's thank ya very much!! And of course my last chappie was good, kit!! I wrote it based on fact!! Don't worry, you're not as weird as cheesecake when he's plotting against us with his dust mites! anyway, keep bein a good beta reader...or as good as you can be!

Well that's it...only 2 for the last chapter...WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!? DON'T YOU KNOW A GOOD STORY WHEN YOU SEE ONE!? GAH!!! hehe, sorry bout that! I have realized that people review more when you offer them stuff...soooooo, if you review this chapter you get...uh...CHEESECAKE!!! hehe, yes, I stole cheesecake's word! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! ::cheesecake chases kyuuka with her weapons, mr. chainsaw and dr. bazooka::

cheesecake: THAT'S MY WORD, YOU HAVE GAH, NOT CHEESECAKE!!

::kyuuka looks at readers:: Now would be a good time to help...or REVIEW!! either way, I'll be happy!!


	11. Scavenger Searching

AN: I wanted to get this updated for this story's one month anniversary...but sadly it's not. Let's pretend it is, though, shall we? not one flame in an entire month! hehe, don't get any ideas now! hehe...why do you have an evil glint in your eyes? AND HOW'D YOU GET MS. FLAMETHROWER!!! Wh-what are you doing!? STAY BACK!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!! ::kyuuka runs from angry reviewers::

Disclaimer: Today cheesecake is gonna do the disclaimer!! Why? Because he reviews!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA, that should give you some incentive! ::kyuuka whistles:: GET OUT HERE CHEESECAKE!!  
cheesecake: er...no.  
kyuuka: but you wanted to do the disclaimer!!  
cheesecake: er...oh yeah, I changed my mind.  
kyuuka: NO YOU DIDN'T!  
cheesecake: fine. ::cheesecake comes out:: what do you want me to do?  
kyuuka: I don't know, just do the disclaimer while I get rid of those angry reviewers. That barricade's not gonna hold forever. ::kyuuka runs off taking out Dr. Bazooka and laughing evilly::  
cheesecake: er...CHEESECAKE! ...kyuuka doesn't own Inuyasha and friends. ::cheesecake looks around nervously before whispering:: and she doesn't own these ramen noodles anymore! ::cheesecake runs off with kyuuka's stock of ramen::  
kyuuka: BACK!!! I don't think they'll be bothering me for some time! ::kyuuka looks for cheesecake and notices her ramen is gone:: CHEESECAKE!!! HERE COMES MR. CHAINSAW!!! ::kyuuka runs off turning on Mr. Chainsaw and laughing evilly...again. A few crashes and shouts of pain are heard before kyuuka comes back with all her ramen and an evil smile::

NOTE: No cheesecakes were harmed in this disclaimer.

Last Chapter:

"Okay, I'm going to pass each of you a piece of paper with your group of kids and schedule," said Myouga, standing up with a number of papers in his hand. He began passing out the papers. When Okibi got hers, she examined it. Eat, scavenger hunt, swim, nature hike, eat, head for home. She then looked below the schedule to the list of kids. She had 6 kids. She looked at all the names. Kaboku, Amai, Reiu, Shippo, Kijo, Karuson...Hey, she got Shippo! At least she would know one kid from the group. She studied the names, most had a meaning. Kaboku meant beautiful tree. 'Beautiful tree? What kinda name is that?' She shrugged and continued her translations. Amai meant sweet, Reiu meant chilly rain, Kijo meant demoness, and Karuson meant boy. She idly wondered what these kids would be like when she was interrupted yet again.

"The kids are in the cafeteria. They're all wearing name stickers, so just find the ones on your list and explain to them that you will be their guide and to ask you if they have any questions. Be friendly and interact with them. Now, go on, there's a schedule to adhere to," he said, ushering them out the door. They silently made their way to the cafeteria, all nervous. Would their kids be sweet and adorable? Or would they be evil brats?

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 11: Scavenger Searching**

When they reached the cafeteria, they broke up and looked for their kids. They each had six kids, some youkai, and some human. Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Okibi, and even Kouga seemed to have good kids. Inuyasha, however, was not as lucky. He didn't know any of the kids. He had four good ones, but the other two he swore were pure evil. One was a little hanyou kitsune. He looked to be about 9 years old. He had long orange hair and orange ears like Inuyasha's. Despite the fact he was hanyou, he had a tail, much like Shippo's. He looked at Inuyasha with silver eyes that had a mischievous glint to them. His nametag said 'Kanrakuchou'. Inuyasha had to stifle his laughter at the meaning. 'Kanraku' meant 'cheese' and 'chou' meant 'cake'...so his name meant 'cheesecake'.

The other kid was also ­­­­kitsune, but she was full youkai. She looked to be about 10 years old. Her long dark brown hair had red and blue highlights. Her violet eyes also had an evil glint to them. Her nametag read Ashi, which scared Inuyasha. It meant 'evil'. The two kids were conversing with hushed voices and glancing at him when he walked over with 4 other kids following him.

"Oi, kids, I'm your leader. I'm gonna make sure you do what you're supposed to," he said greeting the kids like he had the others. They only stared back at him evil smiles.

"Ok," they said in unison before emitting soft evil laughs. Inuyasha felt a chill go down his spine. They were scarier than Naraku in a Speedo (AN: This idea is Super Ceech's in her story King of the Hill. It's hilarious, read it after you finish reading and reviewing this chappie! ). The kids followed him as he walked over to a table with a sign saying "Group 4". He motioned for the kids to sit down before sitting down himself. He had no idea how to deal with kids. He looked around seeing everyone else talking and laughing with their group of kids while eating the food that was previously set at the tables.

"Ok...before we eat, I guess I gotta take role call," he said sounding rather irritated. "Let's see...Mitsukai?" he questioned.

"Here," said a shy voice. Inuyasha crossed her name off with his pencil before repeating the procedure.

"Hana?"

"Present!"

"Raikou?"

"Yeah."

"Shinzui?"

"Here!"

"Kanrakuchou?"

The kitsune boy from earlier smirked and replied, "Glad to be here." A shiver ran up Inuyasha's spine, knowing that held a hidden meaning. He shook it off and crossed off the boy's name.

"K-"

Immediately after saying that name, he was tackled by a 10-year-old kitsune, and boy was she angry. "Do not call me by my real name!! You may call me Dark Princess, Doom Bringer, Devil Incarnate, Oh Mighty One, Your Majesty, Queen of All Evil, or Powerful Immortal of All Evil Acts," she cited, still sitting on his stomach from when she tackled him.

"How...How about I just call you...A-Ashi?" he managed.

She grinned evilly, "That works!" She got off him and returned to her place at the table near Kanrakuchou. Upon reaching him, they both chuckled lightly. Inuyasha stared blankly at the two before getting up and brushing himself off. He returned to his former seat at the table and looked at the food.

"Well, eat up," he said, shoveling some eggs onto his plate followed by bacon and some pancakes. Who knew camps had such good food? The four good kids filled up their plates and started eating. But the 2 evil kids at the far end of the table pulled out brown paper bags. They reached in and pulled out their food. Kanrakuchou pulled out a slice of cheesecake in a Tupperware box and a plastic fork. Ashi pulled out a bag of pixie stix. Inuyasha looked on confusion before they very slowly turned their heads toward him, giving an evil glare. Inuyasha nearly yelped and stared down at his plate. He wasn't scared of anything...but these kids were downright evil!! After he had finished eating, he looked at the schedule. Eat, scavenger hunt, swim, nature hike, eat, head for home. He pulled out the pencil and checked off the first 'eat'. 'Ok, next is scavenger hunt,' he thought, 'The instructions say to meet at the clearing by Myouga's office. Feh, he's probably gonna make us introduce ourselves and stuff.' He stood up, not bothering to push his chair back in.

"Okay, kids, let's go," he said walking to the door. When he arrived, he looked behind him to make sure they were all following. All 6 of them were there so he continued to the clearing where Kagome's and Sango's groups were already waiting. They were deep in conversation.

"Hey!" he shouted to get their attention. They turned to look at him. Sango had an evil grin and Kagome was blushing. This made him wonder just what they were talking about.

"Hey!" Sango said. "Well, uh...I'm gonna go over here," she said walking a little ways with her group, winking at Kagome before leaving. Kagome glared at her, wishing she would spontaneously combust.

"What was that about?" he asked innocently. Kagome jerked her head up.

"Oh, nothing. So how are your kids? Mine are pretty good," she said, talking rather fast.

"Most of them are good, but I'm a little scared of those two," he said, jerking his head at Kanrakuchou and Ashi who were again immersed in 'evil' conversation.

Kagome looked over at the two kids and smiled. "They don't look scary," she said walking over to them. "Hi, I'm Kagome," she introduced. The two kids looked at her and grinned evilly. Kagome now regretted talking to the kids.

"Kanrakuchou," introduced the young hanyou, smiling even bigger.

"Ashi," said the older youkai, mimicking Kanrakuchou's smile. Why were these kids so creepy!? She shook her head to rid it of its thoughts.

"Well it was nice to meet you," she said nervously, backing away, getting only the evil smiles in response. Upon reaching Inuyasha, she chanced a glance back at the two conspirators.

"You're right, those two ARE scary," she said, giving an involuntary shiver.

"Feh," was his only response as they turned this attention back to the clearing, finally noticing that everyone had arrived, including Myouga and the man from earlier, Toutousai.

"Okay, everyone, please settle down," instructed Myouga in an authoritative tone. They obeyed and most of the kids even sat down on the ground or logs. He cleared his throat before going on. "As you leaders should know, we're going to go on a scavenger hunt soon, but before we do, we have to go over the whole schedule. After the scavenger hunt, we're going to go swimming. This includes swimming, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, wakeboarding, water-skiing, and etcetera. After swimming, we're going on a nature hike. I advise you to wear comfortable boots, long pants and wear insect repellent. After the nature hike, we eat again as a supper since we just had brunch. And after that, we return to our cabins and get some sleep," he finished.

"But on the schedule it says 'head for home'," argued Kouga. Myouga nodded.

"Yes, I know. I figured you should get used to calling the cabins home. The kids will only go to their real homes on the weekends," he explained.

'Great, just lovely,' thought Inuyasha bitterly. He would've continued his thoughts had Myouga not interrupted.

"Now that you all know the schedule, it's time to get your lists," he said, turning to Toutousai. Toutousai took the hint and stood up, passing out scavenger hunt lists to all the leaders. "Your leaders will tell you what's needed and guide you through the forest, but they can not tell you where you may find these items," he said, more to the leaders than to the kids. "The first group to return back to the clearing with all the items wins this," he said, holding up a bag full of candy. Inuyasha could see out of the corner of his eye that Kanrakuchou and Ashi were staring wide-eyed at the massive bag full of goodies. "You may go," were Myouga's final words as he ushered the groups away from the clearing.

Inuyasha looked at the new piece of paper in his hand.

**Scavenger Hunt List**

Group 4-Red Group

[ ]-Red flag

[ ]-Red marker

[ ]-Red key

[ ]-Red string

[ ]-Red stick

[ ]-Red treasure chest

[ ]-Red microphone

[ ]-Red twisty-ties

[ ]-Red headphones

[ ]-Red construction paper

[ ]-Red goggles

[ ]-Red paint

[ ]-Red helmet

[ ]-Red squirt gun

[ ]-Red marble

NOTE: You must collect ALL items on list before returning to campsite. There you will receive further instructions.

RUNFELLBURNDUEL

Inuyasha finished reading the note on the page and looked over the items again. He guessed they all had to collect the same items, but in a different color. He was curious about why those types of items were to be collected, but disregarded it. What confused him the most was the letters at the bottom of the page. One of the kids interrupted his thoughts.

"What do we have to get first?" asked the human girl Inuyasha recognized as Mitsukai.

"A red flag," he answered. "I'm not allowed to tell you where the items are," he said. 'Like I even know where they are,' he thought, sarcastically. "But I can lead you on trails and stuff in the forest, so tell me which way you wanna go," he demanded. The children looked at each other, wondering which way they should go first when Kanrakuchou and Ashi started walking off to the right without a word. The rest of the kids hurried after them, thinking they knew what they were doing. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and followed as well. 'I doubt those 2 know which way to go.' After walking for about 5 minutes, the group of 4 clueless children and Inuyasha stopped, leaving Kanrakuchou and Ashi to go ahead the few feet and pick up the red flag. Ashi picked it up and smirked before nodding to Kanrakuchou. He smirked as well and climbed up the tree that the flag was under.

"What are you doing? Get down from there!" commanded Inuyasha, fearing that if they got hurt, he would be the one to blame. Kanrakuchou only stuck out his tongue and climbed higher. "Why you!!" yelled Inuyasha, intent on climbing the tree. Unfortunately, Ashi stepped in front of him before calling up to Kanrakuchou.

"Did you find it yet?" she asked.

It took a few moments for Kanrakuchou to respond. "...Yeah, here it is," he shouted down to them before jumping out of the tree. He high-fived Ashi with his left hand since his right hand carried the red marker.

"Check these off," Ashi ordered Inuyasha before walking with Kanrakuchou to the north. Inuyasha only stared dumbly before registering what happened. Grumbling, he marked off the first 2 items on the list before following the kids to the next item. They walked a little further before they came across the red key. Before picking it up, Kanrakuchou shouted back to the group.

"Be ready to run," he ordered. The kids nodded their heads at their new leaders while Inuyasha Feh'd. Kanrakuchou and Ashi cautiously approached the key and snatched it. As soon as it was out of place, a giant mechanical bear youkai ran after them.

"Run now!" shouted Ashi as she and Kanrakuchou ran forward, past the bear. They started to run after them, but the 2 human kids couldn't keep up with the 4 youkai kids, so Inuyasha snatched them up before they fell too far behind. As soon as they lost the robot youkai, they stopped for breath.

"How did you know to run?" questioned Inuyasha, his voice laced with suspicion.

"This could take a while, so you might want to sit," suggested Ashi. The kids sat, but Inuyasha leaned back against the tree. "You know the letters at the bottom of the list?" she asked him. He nodded and looked at said letters. He didn't know what they were for.

"Well, those letters are directions," explained Kanrakuchou. "The first one, R, is 'Right'."

"The second one, U, is 'Up'," continued Ashi.

"The third one, N, is 'North'," finished Kanrakuchou.

"R-U-N, that spells run, so after you complete a set of directions, you do what they say...run," Ashi explained. Inuyasha stared blankly while registering this new information.

"How'd you know that, though?" he pondered aloud. His response was the 2 demons turning around and walking forward. "Where are you going?" he shouted.

Kanrakuchou spoke without turning around, "Next one's F, for 'Forward'," he shouted. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and followed the rest of the kids who had already started walking after the 2 'leaders'. It wasn't long before they came to a red string balled up on the ground. Ashi picked it up and tossed it back to Inuyasha who pocketed it and marked off the item on the list.

"What's the E stand for?" asked Inuyasha, noticing that's where they were supposed to go next.

Ashi turned around and stared at him as if he was the stupidest person alive. "East," she said before turning back around and heading in said direction. They came to the next item, a red stick. Inuyasha marked it off and the group turned L, for 'Left'.

"Are you sure L doesn't stand for 'Lost'?" asked a weary Inuyasha. They had been walking for over 20 minutes and they still hadn't found the red treasure chest. The two only glared back at him and walked faster. It wasn't much longer until the found the mini treasure chest. They sent a victorious smirk at him as he walked over and picked up the palm sized treasure chest. They took another left and soon found the red microphone, but didn't pick it up.

"F-E-L-L...fell? How are we supposed to 'fell'?" asked Inuyasha as the two looked at each other in amusement.

"Fell is another way of saying 'duck'," replied a bored Kanrakuchou. He went over and picked up the microphone, triggering a log to come swinging into them. Everyone ducked before it came at them. The log reminded Inuyasha of people using a log to break through castle doors or something. It took the log 5 minutes to stop swinging and when it did, the group got up and brushed themselves off.

"What next?" asked Inuyasha while checking off the red microphone.

"B for 'Backwards'," responded Ashi as they went back the way they came. Inuyasha grumbled as he brought up the rear of the group. They soon reached a bag of red twisty-ties. Inuyasha wondered how they had missed it, but figured someone had just put it there, possibly Myouga or Toutousai. He checked it off as Ashi climbed the tree they were under.

"Another 'Up'?" questioned Inuyasha with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep," she responded, jumping down and holding the red headphones.

"This way," pointed Kanrakuchou as they headed to the right. Soon they came upon red construction paper underneath a fist-sized rock to keep it from blowing away.

"Almost done," said Ashi as they headed to the north. They spotted the red goggles, but again, didn't pick them up.

"B-U-R-N...burn? What are we supposed to burn?" asked Inuyasha as the 2 got evil glints in their eyes again. They soon started to laugh evilly.

"You might want to stay back," advised Kanrakuchou as Ashi picked up the goggles. Another robotic bear youkai came at them, but instead of running away, Kanrakuchou and Ashi used their foxfire to set it on fire, all the while laughing evilly. The bear soon stopped moving and collapsed. Kanrakuchou went over and pulled a shovel attached to the bear's back.

"D for 'Down'," explained Ashi as Kanrakuchou began to dig. It wasn't long before he found a can of red paint. He tossed it to Inuyasha who caught it and checked it off while Ashi climbed up another tree. She jumped down, tossing a red helmet to him which he also checked off.

"Now E for 'East'," said Kanrakuchou as they headed toward the east. They soon found a red squirt gun which Inuyasha checked off as well.

"Last one!" said Ashi excitedly. They headed off to their left and encountered the small red marble without picking it up.

"D-U-E-L...duel!? Who's gonna duel what!?" shouted Inuyasha. The two evil children looked at him with equal evil expression.

"You're gonna duel..." started Ashi as Kanrakuchou picked up the marble.

"That," Kanrakuchou finished, pointing to a HUGE mole youkai (AN: you know the little blind things that crawl underground? Those things!). Inuyasha looked at the youkai and began laughing.

"This'll be easy!" he said, noticing it was blind. He jumped in the air and bared his claws. "Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!" he shouted, swiping at it. But the mole dodged the attack and faced him. "What!? He's blind, how can he know where I am!?"

"First of all, he's a full youkai which means his senses are heightened," explained Ashi.

"Second of all, since he's also blind, it gives his other senses an extra boost," continued Kanrakuchou.

"Third of all, you practically screamed in his ear so I would think he can tell where you are."

"And finally, he can sense your demonic aura since he's a youkai," finished Kanrakuchou.

Inuyasha growled. It would be harder than he thought to beat this thing. Suddenly the mole went underground. 'Where'd it go!?' thought Inuyasha looking wildly around. The ground from under suddenly shot up and he was flying through the air. He righted himself in the air and landed on his feet, staring at the mole that was now in his former spot. Inuyasha steadied his breathing, making it as quiet as possible and stopped moving. He hid his demonic aura, which was easy since he was only half youkai. He steadied his heartbeat until it was calm. The mole suddenly looked around, seemingly confused. It began sniffing the air but there were too many kids and he couldn't distinguish the scents. Inuyasha slowly and silently smirked. He then very slowly picked his foot off the ground and slowly and silently stepped forward. He repeated the process with his other foot and continued until he was within five feet of the youkai. He inched his arm back, baring his claws again. The suddenly, as if put in fast forward, Inuyasha swung his arm forward and slashed at the mole, effectively knocking it out cold. He smirked more and looked at the kids who were in awe...except for two.

"Come on, if we don't hurry we won't get back first," complained Ashi.

"Yeah, you took too long knocking out the youkai," agreed Kanrakuchou as the two began running back to the area they were told to meet at. The others ran after them and they reached it in no time. Myouga and Toutousai were already there, but other than that, they were the first group to arrive.

"I see you completed your quest," noticed Myouga as the group piled up their items in the middle. "We must wait for the other groups to arrive...then the real fun will begin," he said.

Inuyasha looked at him nervously. If the scavenger hunt wasn't the real 'fun', he was scared to think what was.

AN: Whew, finally! That took longer than I thought it would!! Four days longer to be exact!!! Anyway, it's longer than the other ones too. Geez, 10 pages. You better feel special people!!! I was kinda sad coz I only got one review for my last chapter. ::sigh:: oh well. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I'd say I had a pretty good plot in this chapter. You're gonna have to wait till next one to find out what Myouga's talking about. Hehe, trust me though, it'll be fun! And the 2 evil kids...hehe, they have a pretty cool part in the next couple chapters too!! If you're wondering, yes, Kanrakuchou is based off my friend Cheesecake and Ashi is kit. They're sorta OOC in this one, but they'll get back into it, now that the quest is over...for now! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Hehe, anyway, I guess bribing didn't make people review...so I've resorted to threatening!!! IF YOU DON'T REVIEW, I SHALL USE MR. CHAINSAW ON YOUR PUNY MORTAL BODIES!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! there! Reviewer Response time!

**Xessive**- Yes, I mentioned cheesecake. ::rolls eyes and gives you cheesecake:: and yeah, that was probly the longest review I've ever gotten! AND QUIT MAKING UR DUST MITES ATTACK MY COMPUTER!!!! GAH!!! I put you in the story and I can control you! ::evil grin:: so be nice! And I don't think I mentioned Okibi too much in this one. I told you, there's gonna be twist to her story and such later on, so just be patient. I'll probly reveal it in about 4 or 5 chapters, if not sooner. REVIEW AGAIN!!!

There, that's all done. Like I said, you review with a suggestion or something and I'll do it! I did it with my other story. someone had an idea for something and I put it in. and I've done it a lot in here! With disclaimers mostly, though! Anyway, again if you want to be notified when I update, here's the link:

Or just go to my profile, I know it's in there! And the link for my other story's notify list is in there too, so yeah . Well...that's it for now, catch ya later!

-kyuuka


	12. Paintball and Pranks

AN: I can't wait to write this chappie!! It's gonna be so fun!! I got a lot of my ideas from my friend and beta reader, kit, and I'll tell you later what ideas I got from her! But right now, it's my time to...uh...hmmmmm. I guess I could just get on with the story, eh? Okay, here we go!!

Disclaimer: ::looks around:: I guess I forgot to get someone to do the disclaimer. ::sweat drops:: Woopsy! I know!! I'll let Inuyasha do it! ::Inuyasha walks on::  
Inuyasha: I heard my name, what do you want, wench!?  
kyuuka: ::drools, Inu came out in swimming trunks:: Oi! You're doin the disclaimer!  
Inuyasha: Feh! Make me!  
kyuuka: Well if you don't do the disclaimer, no one will do it so that'll mean that I own you!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  
Inuyasha: ::sweat drops:: What!? No, wait, I'll do it!!  
kyuuka: NOOOOOOOO!!! I wuv you!!! ::hugs Inu::  
Inuyasha: ::pries kyuuka off him:: Get off me!!! You don't own me!!! HA, I said it!!  
kyuuka: ::sniffles:: so close...

Last Chapter:

"I see you completed your quest," noticed Myouga as the group piled up their items in the middle. "We must wait for the other groups to arrive...then the real fun will begin," he said.

Inuyasha looked at him nervously. If the scavenger hunt wasn't the real 'fun', he was scared to think what was.

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 12: Paintball and Pranks**

It was 15 minutes later and all the groups were standing in the clearing...all but Okibi's.

"Damnit, where is she!?" asked Inuyasha impatiently.

"Inuyasha, sit!" said Kagome angrily. Inuyasha immediately fell to the ground.

"What was that for!?" he yelled.

"Don't curse around the children," she explained as Inuyasha pried himself out of the hole he made.

"Feh! I'm going to look for Okibi," he said, walking into the forest, sniffing for her scent. He found her soon enough about a quarter of a mile from the clearing. She was standing in front of her group of kids with frightened look on her face. Inuyasha looked at her opponent. It was a giant tarantula youkai. Inuyasha was confused. From what Okibi told them, she should've been able to beat this youkai no problem, what was stopping her.

"Oi, Okibi, kill it already," he shouted to her. She looked over at him, her eyes now wide with surprise.

"I...I-I can't!" she yelled, turning her head away. This confused Inuyasha to no end, but he decided to step in. He flexed his claws and slashed at the weak youkai, killing it. He sheathed his sword and walked over to Okibi.

"Why didn't you kill it!?" he demanded, wanting to know the answer.

"I-I wasn't strong enough," she said, finding the ground very interesting.

"But I thought you said you were really strong!" Inuyasha ground out. No way would she lie to Inuyasha and get away with it. She sighed.

"I lied, that whole story I told was fake. The only truth to it was my family. Naraku thought my family had the Shikon no Tama so he was going to kill us. I begged Naraku to spare them...so he did, but for a price. I was to work for him as long as he kept my family hostage. One day I failed to kill someone...the boy I told you about, but it wasn't because he was important to me, it was because I wasn't strong enough, so Naraku decided my usefulness to him had ended. I managed to escape before he killed me and I've been training and trying to find a way to get my family back," she finished. Inuyasha glared at her.

"Why did you lie in the first place?" Inuyasha questioned.

"Well I hoped you guys would help me, but I figured you wouldn't just help any weakling off the street, so I told you I was really strong because I thought I'd have a better chance at getting you guys to help me," she explained.

It was a while before Inuyasha spoke. "You're right...we don't help just any weakling off the street," at this Okibi almost broke down and cried before Inuyasha continued, "but you might be useful to us, so just do what we tell you to and nothing more," he finished, standing up and walking back to the clearing where everyone was waiting. Okibi got up and brushed herself off and turned the children.

"Come on, guys!" she said, smiling and leading her group back to the clearing. When she arrived, Myouga spoke up.

"It seems you have all completed the selected tasks. And as promised, the winning group gets this bag of candy," he said holding up. Inuyasha had to hold back Ashi and Kanrakuchou from jumping up and consuming the whole bag right then and there. "And they will, after they win the competition!"

"You mean...it's not over!?" Kouga asked incredulously. Myouga shook his head violently.

"Nope, there's still a bit to do," he said happily. It was at that moment that Toutousai stepped aside, revealing a rather large box. And when I say large, I mean super large! It was a wonder they didn't see it behind Toutousai's back since it was twice his size. "Those items you gathered have a hidden meaning and the first group to figure it out gets a minute head start!" he explained happily.

"Head start on what?" asked a confused Miroku. Myouga only chuckled happily and turned to talk to Toutousai. The groups took this as a sign to start solving the mystery of the items.

"Alright, what do you think they're for?" Inuyasha questioned his group. Ashi and Kanrakuchou were consulting each other privately...well...not really, but they were consulting.

"Let's see, a flag, a marker, a key, some string, a stick, a treasure chest, a microphone, twisty-ties, headphones, construction paper, goggles, paint, a helmet, a squirt gun, and a marble," Ashi said, reading the list she managed to steal from Inuyasha when he wasn't looking. Inuyasha was about to question her about how the list when Kanrakuchou spoke up.

"Maybe it has to do with a game," he suggested.

"A game with paint..." continued Ashi.

"Guns..."

"A flag..."

"Goggles..."

"PAINTBALL!!" Ashi and Kanrakuchou screamed at the same time. Myouga immediately went over to their group.

"Congratulations, you've figured it out," he exclaimed.

"CANDY!!!" the two kitsunes cried out.

"Tsk, tsk, not yet!" Myouga said before returning to Toutousai. "Ok, it seems Inuyasha's group has figured it out. The answer was paintball. We will be having a paintball competition," he explained. Everyone's eyes lit up with excitement. Who could resist a good game of paintball? "Before you ask about the treasure chest, marker, construction paper and twisty-ties, I'll explain," he said. "Inside the treasure chest is a special weapon only your group has access to. Now, the other items; each group will have their own customized flag. You will make the design with the twisty-ties and then trace it onto the construction paper using the marker. Does everyone understand?" he asked, looking at all the groups who nodded their heads. "Okay, design your flag," he said. The groups instantly began working feverishly on their designs. After half an hour, Myouga went around to see what everyone had gotten done.

Kagome's group was designing a stick figure shooting an arrow into a heart...like cupid. Miroku's group was working a design of 3 stick figures; a man, a woman, and a child. Okibi's group was feverishly designing a random flower. Kouga's group was designing a...was that a tornado? Sango's group was constructing a figure standing victoriously on a pile of evil youkai (AN: I don't know how they made THAT outta twisty-ties! I can only make a guy and a skateboard!). Inuyasha's group...wait, that wasn't Inuyasha's group, that was just Ashi and Kanrakuchou! Well, Ashi and Kanrakuchou were designing a pirate insignia. It was a skull with 2 crossed pirate swords underneath it. Myouga recognized that as Captain "Calico" Jack's emblem. Captain "Calico" Jack was the only pirate captain to take on female pirates as part of the crew. He had 2 female crew members, Anne Bonney and Mary Reade, two of the toughest pirates on the seas. (AN: there's a little pirate background info for ya! Captain Calico Jack is my favorite pirate captain so I couldn't resist!) Myouga returned to the center of the clearing.

"Time's up!" he called, "Finish tracing your designs on the paper and submit them to me so Toutousai can go make the flags quickly." The groups speedily finished and handed their designs to Myouga who gave them over to Toutousai. Toutousai made his leave only to come back 5 minutes later, finished flags in hand.

"Whoa, that was fast," commented Kagome.

"I know a demon who happens to be an extraordinary seamstress," Toutousai replied, talking for the first time. Toutousai handed back the colorful flags. As soon as everyone received their flags, Myouga began to talk again.

"You may now open the treasure chests with the keys you found," he said. The groups did so. Inuyasha pulled out a slip of paper that said "GRENADE LAUNCHER". "Remember, you will not be using the real items, just a safer version. Now come up and give me your slips of paper," he ordered. They did so and Myouga looked over the slips. "Inuyasha's group will receive the grenade launchers, Kouga's group will get land mines, Sango's group gets the bazookas, Okibi's group gets the tranquilizer guns, Miroku's group will get the smoke bombs, and Kagome's group gets the machine guns," he finished. Toutousai pulled out the special weapons from the giant box and handed them to each group in turn.

"Now, to explain the differences in these from the real ones," he said. "The grenade launcher will launch a paintball that will explode. The paint will cover a perimeter of 3-5 feet. The land mine is just a paintball that explodes when stepped on with the same power of the grenade launcher. The bazooka fires bigger, but softer paintballs at a faster rate than a regular paintball gun. The tranquilizer gun fires a special paintball that causes opponents to get drowsy and disorientated for up to a minute. The smoke bomb is a paintball that is filled with gas, not paint. When it explodes, it emits a gas that causes opponents to lose their vision for up to a minute. The machine gun fires regular paintballs at a faster rate than regular paintball guns," he finished.

Everyone seemed so excited about paintballing. It made Myouga happy that he came up with such a great idea. "So, now that you know what the weapons are, let's move on to the rules, shall we? Now, there are 6 teams and 6 flags. We will, of course, be playing capture the flag. All groups will try to steal all the other groups' flags. Once your flag is stolen and on the opponent's territory, you group is out of the game. If you get hit with a paintball besides the tranquilizers and smoke bombs, you are out of the game. Once one group has all 6 flags in their territory, they win the game. You can not get shot in your own territory, but if you're in other groups' territories, you can. Does that cover everything?" Myouga finished. Everyone nodded their heads eagerly.

"Ok, it's now time for everyone to suit up!" he said, turning back to Toutousai who was digging through the huge box again. He pulled out a bunch of different colored helmets, paintball guns, and goggles. He handed all the red stuff to Inuyasha, the purple stuff to Miroku, the green stuff to Kagome, the orange stuff to Okibi, the yellow stuff to Sango, and the blue stuff to Kouga. The leaders passed out the helmets, guns, and goggles to each of their kids, instructing them not to fire the guns yet. Of course, the leaders got helmets, guns, and goggles of their own.

"Now, each helmet has a radio inside so you can talk to your teammates. It's on a certain frequency so none of the other teams can hear what you're saying. Now you all have 5 minutes to pick your territory and set up your flag. The territories are already marked so you can't change the boundaries, but each territory has different advantages and disadvantages. If more than one group wants a territory and they get there at the same time, you will play rock, paper, scissors to determine who gets the territory. Now that everyone understands, your 5 minutes starts...now!" Myouga finished and everyone raced off to claim their territory. Everyone picked their territory without any disputes and the 5 minutes were up.

"Ready...get set...go!" they heard a voice boom throughout the campgrounds, probably Myouga on a bullhorn or something. The groups quickly scattered, hiding themselves and making their way to different flags. Inuyasha's group was probably the only one who thought up a strategy, however. Inuyasha let Mitsukai and Hana guard the flag while he, Ashi, Kanrakuchou, Raikou, and Shinzui split up. Inuyasha would get Kouga's flag, Kanrakuchou would get Okibi's, Ashi would get Sango's, Raikou would get Miroku's, and Shinzui would get Kagome's. Inuyasha silently ran through Kouga's territory, keeping to the bushes. The kids would report to him every few minutes.

"Mitsukai to Inuyasha, no opponents have become sighted as of yet." Inuyasha smiled. 'So far, so good.'

"Raikou to Inuyasha, I'm making good time to Miroku's flag. The flag itself looks unguarded," Raikou's voice crackled over the headset. Inuyasha ducked into the bushes, making sure the coast was clear.

"Shinzui to Inuyasha, the flag is in sight but is heavily guarded. I'll stay hidden and observe enemy movement." Slight problem there, but it should be fine. Inuyasha was expecting Ashi and Kanrakuchou to report but they didn't.

"Inuyasha to Ashi, come in Ashi," demanded Inuyasha, keeping his voice as low as possible. No reply. "Inuyasha to Kanrakuchou, come in Kanrakuchou," ordered Inuyasha. Still no reply. 'Damnit,' he cursed as he neared the flag, still hiding in the bushes.

"Raikou to Inuyasha, Raikou to Inuyasha, I've been shot, man down, man down!" came a hysteric cry over the radio. Inuyasha sighed. That flag hadn't looked guarded, but the guards were probably hiding and luring opponents in to ambush them.

"Inuyasha to Raikou, return to base and stay there. Discontinue all contact, I repeat, discontinue all contact," he ordered, snatching Kouga's flag before making his escape.

"Shinzui to Inuyasha, I retrieved the flag but I was shot on the way to base," came a disappointed voice. Inuyasha sighed yet again as he reached base.

"Inuyasha to Shinzui, report to base and discontinue all contact," he said. He gave Kouga's flag to Hana, making sure the two girls guarded it when he received another transmission.

"Ashi to Inuyasha, I have retrieved both Sango's and Miroku's flags and am in familiar territory. I will return to base shortly," came Ashi's voice. He was about to reply when he received another transmission.

"Kanrakuchou to Inuyasha, Okibi's and Kagome's flags are in possession and I'm returning to base," Kanrakuchou's voice crackled over the headset. He was yet again about to reply when Ashi came into view with Kanrakuchou trailing right behind her. They soon reached base and before Inuyasha could congratulate them...

"You could've gotten me shot, you know that!?" screamed Ashi. "I wasn't replying for a reason-the enemy would've heard me! Did ya ever think of that!?" she screamed. Before Inuyasha could retort, Kanrakuchou then blew up on him.

"I almost did get shot! One of the opponents heard my radio crackle and looked over in my direction. Luckily I hid myself before they could see!!" Kanrakuchou screamed.

"Feh!" was all Inuyasha said before Myouga's boomed over the campgrounds.

"Congratulations to Inuyasha's group! They have won the paintball tournament! Everyone report immediately to the campsite!" Everyone began the walk back to the clearing. Ashi and Kanrakuchou got there first out of excitement. The winners received candy and boy did they want that candy! Soon enough everyone arrived at the clearing.

"Congratulations again!" began Myouga before handing the candy over to Inuyasha. The bag was immediately ripped out of his hands and consumed by Ashi and Kanrakuchou. Everyone sweat dropped at their antics. "Now that the entire scavenger hunt is over, it's time to go swimming!" Myouga said. "Report to your cabins and changed and then head back over to the lake. For those of you who don't know how to swim, there will be an instructor." Everyone then went to their cabins to change. Ashi and Kanrakuchou were the first one to the lake but weren't there alone for too long. Myouga and Toutousai soon showed up, thankfully not in their swimsuits! (AN: Wouldn't wanna see that, now would we? Be glad...Super Ceech has been putting those kinds of images in my head all week) They were followed by a man with long silver hair and amber eyes. He reminded Ashi and Kanrakuchou of Inuyasha...but a more girly version.

"So Sesshomaru, you see we have quite a dilemma," said Myouga looking back at Sesshomaru. "So will you fill in as the swimming instructor?"

"I will most certainly not," he replied calmly. Ashi and Kanrakuchou walked up to Sesshomaru and began staring which soon annoyed Sesshomaru. "What do you want?" he asked a little gruffly. The kids continued to stare before speaking.

"What is this fluffy thing?" questioned Ashi tugging at it. Sesshomaru immediately glared at her.

"Don't touch me," he demanded. Ashi let go for a moment and stared at him before grabbing onto the fluffy thing and swinging from it (AN: This is one of kit's ideas!) gleefully. Sesshomaru's eyes widened in hatred for this youkai child. While he was thinking up many ways to torture the girl, Kanrakuchou decided to make his presence known.

"Are you a girl or a boy?" he asked skeptically.

Sesshomaru growled. "I'm a male," he answered.

"Then why do have that fluffy thing?" Sesshomaru only growled in response before refocusing his attention to the girl, trying to pry her off.

"Hey, Fluffy, if you give her pixie stix, she'll probably get off," suggested Kanrakuchou. Sesshomaru glared and growled and did everything short of hurting the girl to get her off.

"Sesshomaru, you might want to go change into a bathing suit since you're the new swim instructor," suggested Myouga. Sesshomaru nodded and headed off to a nearby bathroom, Ashi still clutching the fluffy thing. She immediately jumped off though when she saw the bathroom come into sight. Luckily the bathrooms weren't too far away from the lake (AN: And guess where the dirty toilet water goes!! Hehe, jk! That would be gross!). She ran back to Kanrakuchou and was whispering something with an evil smile on her face when everyone else arrived.

"What are you two plotting?" asked a suspicious Inuyasha. The two immediately went into defense mode.

"Why do you think we're plotting something?" countered Kanrakuchou.

"Are you paranoid?" continued Ashi.

"Do you need to see a psychiatrist?" asked Kanrakuchou.

"You know, I saw the psychiatrist last week, and he made me wear this strange white jacket," Ashi said, hoping to change the subject.

"Oh really? When I last saw my psychiatrist he put me in a room with walls made out of cotton candy...didn't taste very good though," Kanrakuchou said thoughtfully. By that time Inuyasha had face-faulted and slowly backed away, letting the two continue their conversation. After backing up for a while, he bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going, little brother," Sesshomaru said with his famous stoic face. Inuyasha only growled and stomped off in anger grumbling about how older brothers should burn in the fiery pits of hell. As if Inuyasha's day couldn't get any worse, right on cue, Kouga came into view...with his arm around Kagome. Inuyasha immediately continued stomping over and glared, waiting for them to notice his arrival.

"Oi, wimpy wolf!" shouted Inuyasha growing impatient. Kouga looked over at Inuyasha.

"What do you want, dog-breath?" ground out Kouga.

"I want you to get your dirty hands off Kagome!"

"What are you gonna do if I don't?" smirked Kouga.

"I'm gonna make you regret it, that's what!"

"Ooo, I'm so scared of mutt-face," Kouga said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Inuyasha growled.

"How about we let my Kagome decide?" suggested Kouga with a smirk. Kagome had started to become irritated when the two boys began fighting, but when Kouga said that remark, she snapped.

"I'm not anyone's property, so quit treating me like you own me!!" she yelled at Kouga, gaining a smirk from Inuyasha until she rounded on him. "And you!" she yelled, pointing a finger at him, "You need to quit being so protective!! I'm not your girlfriend either!!" she finished yelling before storming off with a huff. When she was out of sight, Inuyasha turned on Kouga.

"This is all your fault! She wouldn't have gotten mad if you hadn't have called her "my Kagome"," said Inuyasha, imitating Kouga on the last part.

"Well if you hadn't have gotten mad in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem!" Kouga yelled back, placing the blame on Inuyasha.

"Well if you hadn't have put your arm around her I wouldn't have gotten mad!" reasoned Inuyasha.

"Well if you-" Kouga was cut short by someone cutting into their 'conversation'.

"Would you guys stop arguing? We're trying to plot here!" shouted Kanrakuchou, getting the two arguing youkai to stay quiet. The two looked in Ashi's and Kanrakuchou's direction before looking back at each other. The both huffed and crossed their arms, turning away from each other at the same time. Right at that moment, a loud whistle rang out.

"Okay, it's now time for the nature hike!" shouted an enthusiastic Myouga, ushering everyone out of the lake and back to their cabins to change for the nature hike. Inuyasha sighed. This wasn't exactly the greatest day.

----Back at camp, after eating dinner----

Everyone was sitting around the fire, awaiting Myouga's last instructions of the day.

"Okay, everyone, it's time to go back to the cabins and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a free day and we'll have lots of activities going on around the campsite. Lights out will be in an hour, so get ready and go to bed," finished Myouga, heading back to his own cabin. Inuyasha was mildly surprised that Toutousai went to a different cabin since the two hung around each other a lot. He shrugged and headed to his cabin. Luckily all the leaders got their own cabins while the kids had to share. Each group was in their own cabin, i.e. the red group was in the same cabin, the purple group was in their own cabin, etc. Inuyasha followed his routine for getting ready for bed. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, undressed and went to bed (AN: No, Inuyasha does NOT sleep in the nude...he sleeps in his boxers! ::smilie::). Little did he know that two sets of eyes were spying on his sleeping form.

Inuyasha's door slowly creaked open and two figures silently crept into the cabin. One was carrying a bottle of something. The figures laughed evilly as they neared Inuyasha's bed. The first one opened the bottle while the other propped Inuyasha's head off the pillow, praying he was a heavy sleeper. The first figure poured the contents of the bottle onto Inuyasha's head and lathered it to cover every inch of his hair. The other figure helped where they could, but they couldn't do much since they were holding up Inuyasha's head. When they were done they waited about 10 minutes before rinsing it with water. When they had finished their task, they threw the bottle through the door and went back to Inuyasha. They pulled the blanket off him and with much difficulty dragged him out of bed without waking him. They then proceeded to drag him outside of the cabin and dropped him unceremoniously on the ground (AN: another of kit's bright ideas! ::insert smilie here::). They then happily went back inside the cabin and locked the door and happily went to sleep.

----Next morning----

Kagome had gotten up bright and early and decided to take a walk. She always woke up early when camping...she didn't know, she just did. As she was walking by Inuyasha's cabin she saw something strange. When she realized just what it was, she screamed.

AN: Well, that's it for now! ::smilie:: man, that's just not as fun without the real smilies...grrrrr. ::sigh:: guess I'll just have to get used to it! Ok, without further ado, here are the reviewer responses!!

**skysong**- Yep, Kikyou died...a while back, but I'm glad ya reviewed!! keep reading and reviewing!!

**Serenity**- HEY! aww, I feel so loved! Remember, my screen name is CapnCalicoJack74! keep reading and reviewing!!

**Xessive**- "im really glad nobody can stand your writing and no one will read this"...cheesecake...YA BETTER RUN COZ UR DEAD!! ::pulls out ms. flamethrower:: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Well that's it. I got 3! I kinda want more though...if ya really liked this chappie can ya PLEASE review? PWETTY PWEASE!? ok, thanks! ::smilie:: I'm gonna start another story. Why? Coz I can...anyway, I'm hopin it'll be good. it's actually going to be co-written with Xessive aka Cheesecake! Anyway, when I post the first chapter I'll tell ya so u can check it out. alright, catch ya later!

-kyuuka-kit


	13. Competitive Competitions

AN: Hey everyone! Yeah, my updating is getting sloppy. But how can you wait to update something just because you hafta update something else first? Did that make any sense? I hope it did. Anyway, I started a new story called The Hospital so check it out.

Disclaimer: Ok, this might be the last time I say this...I don't own Inu and crew.

Last Chapter:

Inuyasha's door slowly creaked open and two figures silently crept into the cabin. One was carrying a bottle of something. The figures laughed evilly as they neared Inuyasha's bed. The first one opened the bottle while the other propped Inuyasha's head off the pillow, praying he was a heavy sleeper. The first figure poured the contents of the bottle onto Inuyasha's head and lathered it to cover every inch of his hair. The other figure helped where they could, but they couldn't do much since they were holding up Inuyasha's head. When they were done they waited about 10 minutes before rinsing it with water. When they had finished their task, they threw the bottle through the door and went back to Inuyasha. They pulled the blanket off him and with much difficulty dragged him out of bed without waking him. They then proceeded to drag him outside of the cabin and dropped him unceremoniously on the ground (AN: another of kit's bright ideas! ::insert smilie here::). They then happily went back inside the cabin and locked the door and happily went to sleep.

----Next morning----

Kagome had gotten up bright and early and decided to take a walk. She always woke up early when camping...she didn't know, she just did. As she was walking by Inuyasha's cabin she saw something strange. When she realized just what it was, she screamed.

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 13: Competitive Competitions**

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes, trying to shield them from the sunlight filtering through his window. He saw a figure standing over him. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the light. When he did, there were more figures above him, all talking in whispers. He saw Kagome first; she must have been the first figure. But what was she doing in his room? He also started recognizing the multiple figures standing over him. He saw Miroku, Sango, Okibi, Kouga, and multiple kids. But what were they all doing in his room!? He started to catch little phrases from the whispering above him.

"...that's just wrong..."

"...more perverted than Miroku..."

"I am not perverted, Sango!"

"Maybe Mutt-face got beat up...wouldn't surprise me."

As he started to regain consciousness, he began to familiarize the phrases with their owners.

"Look, he's waking up!" Okibi's voice said.

"He's been awake, Okibi," retorted Kagome.

"Then why is he still lying there in just his underwear?" questioned Sango.

"They're boxers, not underwear," said the ever intelligent Miroku.

"Who cares, doesn't he know that little children can see him? They'll be scarred for life!" Kouga interrupted.

Inuyasha groaned. What the heck were they talking about? He was in his room, little kids couldn't see him. And...why were there trees in his room? And where did the roof go? And where was his bed!? Inuyasha quickly glanced around and saw that he was outside, surrounded by practically all the campers.

"Look, he's really awake now!" Okibi exclaimed.

"Hey...why is his hair black?" questioned Kagome, bending down and examining his hair. Inuyasha quickly sat up, startling Kagome and took a lock of hair in his hand. He eyed it carefully before shock flooded his face. His hair was black! He quickly stood up and ran to his cabin a few feet away. Turning the knob, he found that it was locked. In desperation he started ramming it with his shoulder but to no avail. Looking around wildly and ignoring the questioning looks from the innocent bystanders, he found a window and quickly broke it, not realizing that it was unlocked. He jumped inside and found none other than Ashi and Kanrakuchou in his bed. He growled and picked the two up by their tails.

Yawning, Ashi saw the pissed look on Inuyasha's face. "Look who woke up! I was wondering how long you would sleep in. Why is your hair black?" she asked the last part innocently.

"You mean...you didn't dye my hair?" Inuyasha asked, terrified of the answer.

"Nope, we just took your cabin. Why are you so scared of black hair?" asked Kanrakuchou with a believable innocence. Inuyasha dropped the two kids in shock and they scampered out the door with evil grins on their faces. Inuyasha made his way to the mirror, afraid of what he might see. He sighed in relief as he saw his ears still perched on top of his head, though they were now black as well. His fangs and claws were still there too. And his eyes were still amber. So why was his hair black? Inuyasha shook his head to rid it of its evil thoughts. He quickly got dressed and peeked out his window to make sure the coast was clear. The crowd had apparently gotten bored and went to do more productive things. He sighed and quickly left his cabin in search of his group of children. First he headed to their cabin, but they weren't there. He decided the next best bet was the cafeteria so he quickly ran over there. They weren't there either. 'Where are they!?' he thought. Then he mentally slapped himself.

"I'm a hanyou, I can smell them out," he muttered to himself before sniffing the air. He stopped before realizing he couldn't smell them. His eyes widened and he tried even harder to sniff them out...but he couldn't! He looked at his fingers and ran his tongue over his teeth to make sure they were still sharp. They were, so what the hell was going on!? He shook it off and decided to search the good old fashioned way. He thought and decided that they were probably at the lake so he made his way there. Sure enough, all 4 of them were there...wait...he had 6 kids, not 4! He counted again and saw only 4. He did a name check to see who the missing 2 were. Ashi and Kanrakuchou! He shrugged. They were very capable of handling themselves so they shouldn't be a problem.

He sighed and jumped into a nearby tree. Lazily looking out over the lake he slowly drifted off into the land of dreams, unaware of the 2 pairs of evil eyes staring at him from higher in the tree. Evil laughter was heard as the 2 figures jumped down to his tree branch.

----an hour later----

Inuyasha yawned and stretched. Awaking from his nap, he was more refreshed than when he had woken up that morning to find his hair black. Scowling, he double-checked his claws and fangs before his eyes widened. His sharp claws were now regular human fingernails! Running his tongue over his fangs, he found that those too were dull. Panicking and in a state of shock, he fell out of the tree and landed flat on his back.

"Owwww!!" he groaned, turning over and slowly standing. He brushed himself off and looked out at the lake. None of the kids were there. Sighing, he decided it must be lunch time so he miserably walked to the cafeteria. Upon entering he found everyone sitting and enjoying lunch. He made his way over to his table and sat down to think. 'How could this have happened? Am I still a hanyou or am I a human? Why the hell is this happening!?' he thought desperately, feeling for his hanyou ears. They were still there, so he couldn't be he? His thoughts were interrupted when Kagome sat down next to him with a blush on her face.

"Hey Inuyasha, um...why were you sleeping outside this morning?" she asked hurriedly. Inuyasha immediately growled and glared at the 2 kids at the other end of the table, innocently eating their cheesecake and pixie stix.

"Those two kids decided they liked my cabin better than theirs," he said, indicating the 2 evil children. Kagome looked over and immediately shuddered in fear.

"Yeah, those 2 are pure evil," she whispered. As soon as the words finished coming out of her mouth, Ashi and Kanrakuchou quickly looked over at her and smiled equal evil smiles. Kagome's eyes widened and she tried to duck under the table.

"Relax, they won't kill you, just torture you," Inuyasha said. Kagome rose in her seat and sighed.

"Ok, well all the leaders are going to have a contest," Kagome started.

"What kind of contest?" he questioned.

"It'll be a series of contests. First we'll have a race around the lake in the canoes, then we'll bike the trails, and then we'll have a rock climbing contest. And just for kicks, we'll have a jell-o eating contest." she added. Inuyasha smirked.

"You guys are going to lose," he said confidently as he stood up. Kagome stood up as well and led him to where the other leaders were waiting.

----15 minutes later----

The leaders were lined up behind 6 canoes waiting just off shore. Myouga agreed to referee their events and some of the kids came to watch and root their leader on. Myouga blew the whistle, signaling the racers to go. They all ran forward and quickly pushed their canoes in the water before jumping in themselves. The lake wasn't that big, so it wouldn't be too strenuous to row around the buoys placed as checkmarks. Inuyasha and Kouga quickly tied for 1st and were far ahead of the rest of the leaders. Kouga pushed his arms to their limit as he rowed even faster. Inuyasha smirked and kept his pace, falling just a few feet behind. Soon Kouga's arms were exhausted and he was having a hard time rowing. That's when Inuyasha rowed even faster and surpassed Kouga. He rowed steadily on the last stretch and easily beat all the leaders. Nearing shore, he jumped out of the canoe and waded to land.

"Don't strain yourself, Kouga!" Inuyasha called to him. He saw his rival scowl and he chuckled at his easy victory. Cheers from the crowd of children were heard as Inuyasha raised a fist in the air and laughed at his weak opponents. Soon everyone pulled their canoes to shore and collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

After about 10 minutes they had all gotten up and were feeling much better. They headed over to the trails with some bikes Myouga happened to own for such occasions. They all lined up on their bikes and prepared for the next race. Myouga stood at the side, whistle in mouth. Seeing that everyone was ready, he blew the whistle. They all immediately took off but Kagome took the lead. Leaning low against the handlebars, she pedaled faster and picked up speed. Soon the others were left far behind and she passed the finish line no problem.

Smirking, Kagome hopped off the bike and put up the kickstand. Then she waited for the losers to arrive. As soon as the others came into sight, weary and out of breath, she flat-out laughed at their loss, receiving only scowls in response. The group then headed over to the large rock-climbing wall. This one was large enough to let 10 people comfortably climb the wall so the 6 leaders wouldn't have a problem. They lined up, at the ready and waited for the whistle. It came soon enough and they took off up the wall. The 3 girls fell behind quickly, and Kouga was leading the boys. He soon reached the top of the wall and pulled himself up to sit on it, crossing his arms like a king over his kingdom.

"Seems like I won this one, Mutt-face," he said smugly.

"Feh," was all Inuyasha said as he jumped down to the bottom of the wall. After everyone had safely made it down the wall, it was time for their last competition-the jell-o eating contest. Six batches of cherry jell-o were made and the contestants weren't allowed to use their hands during this contest. To ensure that no one cheated, their hands were tied behind their back. Crouching over the desert, the final whistle was blown and the contestants dug in. Inuyasha was sure he had this one in the bag so he wasn't counting on losing. Finishing quickly, he raised his head only to see Okibi already done with hers. Her dish was empty and her face had bits of jell-o all over it, but through all the jell-o anyone could see the victorious smile she wore. Myouga blew the whistle again to signal that there was a winner and they all were surprised to see Okibi. They all thought Inuyasha would win that one as well, what with his big appetite and all. Shrugging, they all cheered for her win. After the games, it had gotten pretty late and they were instructed to spend some time with their kids.

Inuyasha headed over to his group, wary of Ashi and Kanrakuchou. He hadn't seen them since lunch, so he was sure they had some diabolical scheme cooked up by now. He reached the group and they stared up at him expectantly.

"Well we have an hour before we have to report to our cabins, so what do you want to do?" he questioned, crossing over his arms over his chest.

"Man Hunt!" Ashi and Kanrakuchou immediately answered. Inuyasha was taken aback at the suggestion. He thought they would say Duck, Duck, Goose or Froggy in the Middle or something. But Man Hunt was a cool game, so it was fine.

"Alright, but there's 7 of us so we'll have an odd number. Who wants to be team captains?" he questioned. Ashi and Kanrakuchou immediately raised their hands. Realizing they would be playing against each other, they went into win mode. Inuyasha lined up the other kids on the wall, including himself and let the 2 other kids pick their teams.

"Who picks first?" asked Kanrakuchou. They glared at each other and both put out fists. They then proceeded to play Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who would pick first. The first round, Kanrakuchou beat Ashi when his scissors cut her paper. Ashi tied the next round when her paper wrapped his rock. It was the last round and whoever won would be able to pick first. With their game faces on, they played the last round. Kanrakuchou let out a cheer of victory when his rock crushed her scissors. His cheerfulness was smothered, though, when Ashi pushed him to the ground with one hand. Whistling when he got up, she shot him an innocent look. He growled and studied the kids and Inuyasha in a line before him.

"Hmmmm...Shinzui," he picked, pointing to Shinzui. Shinzui smirked and walked around Kanrakuchou to stand behind him. Ashi then carefully studied the group of people and smirked.

"Hana," she called, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Raikou," Kanrakuchou called, not missing a beat.

"Mitsukai," Ashi called, "And that means you have to have Inuyasha," she said, smirking. Kanrakuchou glared at her and crossed his arms over his own chest.

"Neh. Fine, Inuyasha, you're in our group. But I'm not gonna help you when Ashi catches you," he said, turning his head away.

Inuyasha only growled in response. "Which team hides first?" questioned Raikou. Ashi and Kanrakuchou stared at each other before speaking at the same time.

"Mine," they both said at the same time. Ashi growled at Kanrakuchou and he immediately backed down.

"Hers," he said, jerking his thumb in her direction.

"Count to 50," she instructed, waiting for the boys to cover their eyes.

"But where's Jail?" asked Hana.

"The Cafeteria," responded Kanrakuchou before closing his eyes.

"Uh...How do you play this game?" asked Mitsukai.

"One team hides while the other one seeks. If the seeking team tags a member of the hiding team, they have to go to Jail and can't leave until another member of the hiding team tags them. Once the whole hiding team is tagged, the round ends and the teams switch positions," explained Ashi. Hana nodded in understanding and the boys covered their eyes.

"1...2...3..." they began and the girls scattered around the camp.

----44 numbers later----

"48...49...50!" the boys finished as they opened their eyes. Raikou and Shinzui teamed up and went one way and Inuyasha went another way. Kanrakuchou looked around and sniffed the air. There was no rule against using your demonic powers and the other team could use their powers too, so it was fair. He caught Ashi's scent and ran in that direction. He saw some movement up in a nearby tree and he quietly jumped into it. He caught a flash of brown mixed with red and blue and he recognized it as Ashi's hair. He jumped into the branch she was formerly inhabiting and was surprised to find she wasn't there. Looking around, he felt two hands push him out of the tree.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed as fell from the tree. He managed to not land on his head and he sat up as he evil laughter from above him. He looked up and saw Ashi laughing in the tree branch. Quickly standing up, he tried to follow her as she jumped from treetop to treetop, but she was full youkai and he was only hanyou so he wasn't as fast as her. Slowing to a stop since he lost her, he looked at his surroundings. He recognized this as one of the trails and saw that the sun would set at any minute, meaning if they didn't win this round soon, Ashi's team would win. Determination set in as he sniffed the air again to find that Ashi was extremely close. Taking off at a run, he soon tripped on a rock and fell to the ground. He felt himself being pulled up and saw that he was caught in a net and dangling from a tree. Ashi stepped out of the shadows and grinned at him before cackling evilly. She quickly ran away when she saw Kanrakuchou start swiping at the multiple ropes with his claws.

Taking one more swipe, Kanrakuchou felt himself falling again. He hit the ground and immediately got up. He ran in the direction of her scent and quickly saw her. Only she was surrounded by the rest of the group.

"Kanrakuchou, Ashi's team won. It's time to go back to the cabins," Inuyasha called. Kanrakuchou growled and followed a giggling Ashi. She quickly turned to him and whispered something in his ear that Inuyasha didn't catch and they both developed equal evil grins directed at Inuyasha. Gulping, Inuyasha sped up a little and the cabins soon came into sight. The kids rushed forward to their own cabin as Inuyasha retreated to his cabin. He opened the door and turned on the light. After repeating his nightly procedures he quickly stripped to his boxers and climbed into bed, but not before remembering to lock his door. Quickly falling asleep, he began snoring.

After Inuyasha had fallen asleep, his doorknob began to rattle. It stopped after about 30 seconds and all was silent for a little while. Then suddenly, the doorknob began clicking and soon the door swung open. Two dark figures entered and stood to either side of Inuyasha's bed. One of the figures cautiously opened one of Inuyasha's eyes and the other inserted a small item in it. Repeating the procedure with the other eye, they silently chuckled and quickly left the room, making sure to lock it as they closed the door behind their dirty deed.

AN: Well now that THAT'S done! I don't know how good this one is, but I enjoyed writing it. Be sure to check out my other stories and REVIEW! Reviewer Response time!

**crazy-kitsune**­- You were my only reviewer for that last chapter!! Yeah, I'm sorry you didn't get to strangle Fluffy, but you get to be evil to Inu and Kanrakuchou! Sorry you almost got grounded the WHOLE summer...just don't...don't do what you did to get grounded again...lol! See ya later!

Well...kit was my only reviewer! ::sniff, sniff:: I feel so unloved! Review, please!?


	14. Betting Buddies

AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while...been takin a little break. ::sigh:: school stars back up a week from Monday...I really don't wanna go back. Oh well. Anyway, on with the story.

Disclaimer: Well I told kit I'd let her do the disclaimer with her bishie...but she's changed her bishie since the last time I talked to her, so...i don't know who her bishie is! I'll just add this part in later. ::later:: well, I don't know where kit is, so I'll just have to improvise. ::pulls out hands clad in socks::  
1st sock: This is kyuuka's story!  
2nd sock: But she doesn't own the Inuyasha characters!  
1st sock: Yeah, she only owns Okibi!  
2nd sock: And us!  
kyuuka: ok, guys, I think you bored my reviewers to death, thanks a bunch...  
socks: you're welcome!

Last Chapter:

After Inuyasha had fallen asleep, his doorknob began to rattle. It stopped after about 30 seconds and all was silent for a little while. Then suddenly, the doorknob began clicking and soon the door swung open. Two dark figures entered and stood to either side of Inuyasha's bed. One of the figures cautiously opened one of Inuyasha's eyes and the other inserted a small item in it. Repeating the procedure with the other eye, they silently chuckled and quickly left the room, making sure to lock it as they closed the door behind their dirty deed.

**_Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts_**

**__**

**Chapter 14: ­­­­­­­Betting Buddies**

The sun slowly crept over the horizon, signaling the beginning of a new day. The beautiful rays that stretched over the peaceful forest seemed to make the leaves glow gold. The birds awoke and sang their beautiful songs as various creatures scampered about, looking for their breakfast. A peaceful river flowed through the forest which was home to several cabins and campers who were peacefully dozing in the comforts of their beds. The few clouds that littered the sky began to shine with pink and purple light as the sun made its way higher into the sky. Suddenly, the serene scene was interrupted by a loud scream of anguish.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" screamed Inuyasha as he looked at his image in the mirror. Yesterday morning his hair had turned black, then while he was taking a nap later that day, his fangs and claws had shortened to normal human standards, and now, as he studied himself, he saw that his once bright golden orbs had changed to dark brown. He was starting to panic. This had never happened before! Why he was changing into a human, he didn't know, but it was the most frightening experience in his life. Luckily, his dog ears were still perched atop his head, but along with his hair, they had changed to black. This was not happening, not here, not now, not to him! He quickly pulled on his clothes and ran outside, intent on finding the cause for this transformation.

----Kagome's POV----

Kagome furiously rubbed his eyes, angry at being awoken so early, by a scream no less! She threw back the covers and quickly got dressed before opening her door and peering outside, hoping to catch the culprit. She jumped back in surprise as a blur rushed past her door at a speed that rivaled Kouga's. When she looked back outside, the blur rushed into the red group's children cabin. Shaking her head, she noticed that the blur's loud scream had woken up the other leaders as well who were now standing in their doorways contemplating who that was. Kagome walked over to Sango at seeing her glare in all directions, as if daring that thing to scream again. When her eyes landed on Kagome, though, they brightened a bit.

"Hey Kagome!" she greeted as Kagome walked up to her.

"Hey," she returned the favor, "do you know what that was?"

Sango shook her head, "No, but when I find out, that thing's dead," she muttered. Kagome laughed at her friend's antics.

"We'll double-team it then," Kagome grinned evilly, causing Sango to grin just as evilly.

"We'll run his boxers up the flagpole!" Sango suggested evilly.

"How do you know it's a he?" Kagome questioned.

"All the girls are counted for," she said, pointing to Okibi who looked like a zombie walking to the cafeteria.

"I see...in that case, we'll not only run his boxers up the flagpole, we'll run him up the flagpole too...in his boxers," Kagome said.

"We'll dye his hair pink!"

"We'll paint his nails!"

"We'll cover him in glitter!"

"We'll put makeup on him!"

"We'll dress him in a tutu!"

"We'll take hideous pictures of him in the tutu and blackmail him!"

"We'll expose him as..."

"Inuyasha!?" Kagome questioned, cutting off Sango.

"Inuyasha?" Sango repeated, whirling around and looking at the disgruntled figure that had just left the kid's cabin. She then turned back to Kagome.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't do those things to him," Kagome said a bit nervously, causing Sango to put on a knowing smile.

"You like him," she said in a sing-song voice, making Kagome's cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

"I do not!" she retorted.

"Kagome and Inuyasha, sittin' in a tree!" Sango began singing, skipping away from the fuming Kagome.

Kagome pause a moment before a smirk graced her lips. "What about you and Miroku?" Sango stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned around, her face bright red.

"What about us?" she asked.

"You like him," Kagome said triumphantly.

"Do not!" Sango retorted, eyes wide.

"Then what about that day when we were watching 50 First Dates? I recall you and Miroku making out on the couch before Inuyasha told you to get a room," Kagome said, assuming a thoughtful position.

"I was caught up in the moment! I was too shocked to do anything!" Sango desperately tried to regain her composure. "And besides, Miroku was probably only being a pervert, I bet he didn't mean it," Sango said more to herself than Kagome and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'll take you up on that bet," Kagome said, smirking.

"What bet?" Sango asked, genuinely confused.

"You just said, 'I bet he didn't mean it'," Kagome explained with a smug expression, "Well, I bet you he did!"

Sango scoffed, "You're on!"

"What are the stakes?" Kagome questioned, walking over to where Sango was.

"Hmmm...Whoever loses has to admit their feelings for the one they love," Sango said.

"Ah, so you do like Miroku," Kagome finalized, trying to get Sango to change the stakes.

"No! Grrr...Whoever loses has to sing a Britney Spears song in front of the whole camp!" Sango said. (AN: Ewww...Britney Spears...::shudder::)

"Deal!" Kagome said, thrusting her hand in between the both of them. Sango hesitantly took it and they shook hands. At seeing the look of victory on Kagome's face, Sango was a little worried.

----Inuyasha's POV----

Upon arriving inside his group's cabin, Inuyasha turned on the lights, causing little groans of protest to arise amongst the children. He stomped over to 2 beds in the back, where lied the only asleep personages. He roughly grabbed both with each hand and shook them until they groggily opened their eyes.

"G'morning, Yash!" exclaimed Kanrakuchou, a little too cheerful for Inuyasha's taste.

"Hey, dog breath, how come your eyes aren't sparkly gold anymore?" asked Ashi, eyes shining with innocent malice.

"You two know why! Now tell me what you've been doing to me!" he demanded, shaking their bodies much like he would with Shippou.

"Besides annoying you to no end?" questioned Kanrakuchou with the same innocence as Ashi.

"And showing everyone that our talents and skills are far more superior to yours?" added Ashi.

The two looked at each other and showed malevolent grins before answering in unison, "Nothing at all." The inu hanyou growled and dropped the two before storming out of the cabin and headed to Miroku's cabin. He opened the door and stormed inside, making himself comfortable on Miroku's bed.

"Ah, Inuyatha, to what do I owe thith pleathure?" questioned Miroku from the bathroom, not bothering to peek into the room. Inuyasha quirked his eyebrows in confusion as to why Miroku was lisping.

"What are you doing in there?" he asked in pure curiosity. Miroku stepped out in his dark purple bathrobe and a small white towel wrapped turban style around his head, his mouth sporting white foam and a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Bruthing my teeth," he responded before stepping back into the bathroom. Inuyasha heard a spit and some running water and rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure Sango would like to see you like that," he snickered. Miroku bolted out the bathroom, face flushed and toothpaste dripping down the side of his mouth.

"Who told you I like her?" he questioned, eyes just about to pop out of his skull.

"So you admit that you do, in fact, like her?" Inuyasha smirked. Miroku's face began to turn crimson as he waved his hands in front of him in an effort to wave off the accusations.

"N-no! She has a lovely figure but I do not like anyone!" he tried to retort. Inuyasha scoffed.

"Sure ya don't like her," Inuyasha responded in a tone thick with sarcasm.

Miroku was about to retort when an idea struck his mind causing him to grin maliciously. "What about Kagome?"

The hanyou felt his face heat up a notch, "What about her?"

Miroku's evil grin widened, "She has a lovely figure as well, doesn't she?"

Anger boiled the hanyou's blood as he clenched his fists, "You've been checking her out!?" he asked incredulously.

"No need to get so upset, Inuyasha, it's not like she's your girlfriend," the monk said, pointing out the obvious.

"Feh!" was his only response.

"But you have kissed her...when we played Truth or Dare, remember?"

"Only on a dare, I bet it didn't even mean anything to her," Inuyasha said, not expecting Miroku to hear the last bit.

"Oh really...Is that a bet, Inuyasha?" the monk said menacingly.

"No, but even if it was, I'd win it!" Inuyasha stated.

"Hmmm...I bet it did mean something to Kagome," Miroku said, cupping his chin in his hand and staring at the ceiling.

"You really wanna lose this bet? Fine by me, name the stakes," Inuyasha said confidently.

"Whoever loses...has to dance around the camp singing 'I'm a Little Teapot'."

"Feh, that's childish, even for you, Miroku," Inuyasha said.

"Fine, you think of something."

"Whoever loses...can't talk for...a month."

"A month is too long, Inuyasha."

"Fine, a week."

"That's reasonable," Miroku said, sticking his hand out towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha hesitantly took it.

"It's a deal," he said, but couldn't help but be a bit wary of the evil spark in Miroku's eyes.

----later that afternoon----

All the groups were sitting in the cafeteria, staring up at Myouga who had a couple of announcements. There were quite a few people fidgeting since they had been waiting for what seemed like hours, but was really 10 minutes.

"Ahem! I would like to announce that we are going to play football now," Myouga said, gaining the attention of all who was present. The attention soon turned to someone else as they stood up and made a declaration of joy.

"Oh boy, I love football!" Okibi exclaimed, jumping up. Only when she felt all eyes turn to her did she give a nervous laugh and sit back down.

"As I was saying, we're going to play football. Three groups will team together against the other 3. The red group, green group, and yellow group will be on a team while the blue group, purple group, and orange group will be in a group," Myouga said. He looked up to see everyone trying to figure what group the other colors were. "That means Inuyasha's, Kagome's, and Sango's group will be on a team while Kouga's, Miroku's, and Okibi's group will be on a team," he said. Everyone nodded in understanding. "All right then, let's get going," he said, leading everyone out through the cafeteria doors.

Inuyasha grumbled as he walked, looking up at the top of his head every once in a while. His dog ears were gone, replaced with human ears while he took a nap.

----Flashback----

After breakfast, Inuyasha decided to take a quick nap. He went to the tree he slept at yesterday, but went a few branches higher, positive that if it was the evil kitsunes doing this to him, they wouldn't be able to reach him up there. He leaned his back against the trunk and quickly fell asleep.

Shortly after the hanyou had fallen asleep, the two kits scampered up the tree to the branch Inuyasha fell asleep on yesterday. They didn't want to risk going any higher, so they would just have to work their magic from there. He exchanged glances and grinned evilly. The transferred some of their fox magic to the hanyou above them, effectively giving the illusion of human ears and removed dog ears. They put more magic together to fool Inuyasha into thinking he could hear out of the fake human ears and couldn't feel the dog ones. Glad that their work was done, they jumped out of the tree and ran off. They didn't know how long their magic would hold up, but they knew it would be long enough to fool Inuyasha into thinking he had turned into a human.

Inuyasha woke up 30 minutes later, feeling refreshed. Remembering what had happened yesterday and this morning, he felt the top of his head for his ears. They weren't there! His hands slowly moved down to the side of his head and felt human ears. Inuyasha's eyes went wide before he passed out and fell out of the tree.

----Un-Flashback----

He grumbled as he was pulled out of his thoughts as he saw Miroku and Kagome talking in hushed voices. They were a little too close together for Inuyasha's comfort. He peered over at Sango who seemed a little fazed about it too. He sighed and jumped in shock when a face appeared in front of him.

"Okibi, don't do that!" he growled earning an earnest smile in response.

"Me thinks you be a tad bit jealous," she said, using her fingers to indicate the 'tad bit' part. Inuyasha huffed.

"I am not jealous!" he said, crossing his arms over his torso.

"Denial's always the first stage!" she replied. Inuyasha glared at her.

"I'm not jealous," he began, "because I don't like Kagome," he stated with finality. Okibi rolled her eyes.

"Suuuuure ya don't. Well, I hope you know that your team's goin' down when we play football," she said, overly confident. Inuyasha decided to ignore her as she made her way to talk to Sango. Inuyasha looked ahead. They were following Myouga, Toutousai, and...Sesshomaru? Why was Sesshomaru still there? Inuyasha shrugged, thinking he just wanted to keep a close eye on Rin. Suddenly Inuyasha stopped and noticed that all the demons in their group did as well. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the surrounding area, saying only one word quietly.

"Naraku..."

(AN: Should kyuuka end it here? She could...she wants to...but she won't coz she really wants to put Naraku in this chappie. Hehe, evil plans...)

Everyone stood alert as a figure appeared in front of the group. He was clad in a white baboon pelt. One would laugh if they didn't know the seriousness of the person it hid. It seemed as if time itself had stopped as everyone stood rigid. Only one person dared to move. Ashi made her way to Naraku and cocked her head to the side in amusement.

"Heylo!" she greeted. When she got no response, she stepped closer and closer until she stood directly in front of him. She reached out her hand and rubbed the baboon pelt. Normally Inuyasha would've stepped in and stopped the kid from committing such a stupid action, but he was too stunned to move. Ashi stopped rubbing the fur.

"It's not as soft as Fluffy's," she said with a smirk as she ran back to the group and jumped onto Sesshomaru's fluffy thing, swinging from it as she did the first time she met him. She continued swinging, even when she heard Naraku's evil laugh.

"Kukukukuku, this girl amuses me," he said. Ashi got off Sesshomaru and stepped closer to Naraku.

"Your stupid costume amuses me," she retorted, making as if to pull the pelt off him, but he moved back causing her to miss.

"Do not touch me again, weak child," he said, his voice laced with malice. Ashi grinned evilly as she responded.

"Do not touch me again, weak child," she repeated in the most annoying voice she could muster.

"You annoy me!" Naraku spat out. Kanrakuchou stepped out from the crowd next to Ashi.

"You annoy me!" they said in unison causing Naraku to growl, which they copied as well, both giving evil growls.

"If you worthless beings do not shut up at once, I shall kill you!" he threatened.

"If you worthless beings do not shut up at once, I shall kill you!" they repeated as they began climbing on Naraku and jumping on him.

"Puny beings!!" he screamed in rage, trying desperately to get the children off him.

"Puny beings!!" they repeated. Suddenly they jumped off him and ran back to the group.

"You confuse me," he said. He half expected them to repeat him, but to his surprise and great pleasure they did not. He then turned his attention to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha...I see you are human," he said with a trace of evil.

Inuyasha gulped and back up a few steps. Myouga and Toutousai took this opportunity to round up the kids and take them back to the cafeteria. They left Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Kouga, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Okibi to deal with the threat. Unbeknownst to them, Ashi and Kanrakuchou also stayed behind, hidden in the trees.

"Ah, Okibi, have you enlisted Inuyasha to help in the rescue of your family?" he chuckled. "You always were too weak to destroy an opponent on your own," he finished. Okibi growled but remained put. She knew she wouldn't be able to take down Naraku, so she didn't try her luck.

"Naraku!" Inuyasha called, making him return his attention to him, "Today's the day you die!" he exclaimed, lunging at Naraku and readying his claws...wait, Inuyasha had nails now, not claws. Inuyasha stopped mid-lunge and growled at his misfortune.

"Inuyasha, stay back. I shall defeat Naraku on my own," said Sesshomaru as he stepped forward and drew Tokijin.

"My fight is not with you, Sesshomaru," Naraku said, beginning to disappear. "I shall defeat you, Inuyasha, when your powers have returned," he said as he fully vanished. Inuyasha growled. Usually, Naraku would have attacked him, especially if his powers were gone. This did not bode well. Naraku was hiding something and Inuyasha didn't like it. Just then, two beings jumped from the trees and landed amongst the leaders and Sesshomaru.

"Jeez, what a creepy guy," said Ashi as she stared at where Naraku had vanished.

"Yeah, a freak of nature," agreed Kanrakuchou.

"We should just call him 'Kikei' for freak," laughed Ashi.

"Or 'Henshu'," suggested Kanrakuchou, cracking a smile.

"Anyway, it means the same thing," Ashi said. Their conversation was cut short when an agitated hanyou glared at them.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Myouga?"

"Well...uh...he sent us! He sent us to tell you...to tell you that we're playing football now!" Kanrakuchou said. Inuyasha shrugged and turned back to the others.

"Guess we're playin' football," he said as he walked back to the cafeteria, the others following in his wake.

----At the football field----

Inuyasha and Kouga stood opposite of each other, growling and glaring. They had named themselves captains of their teams. Inuyasha's team had white flags while Kouga's team had black flags. Myouga and Toutousai had double-checked each person to make sure they didn't cheat when putting on their flags (AN: as in tying them so they can't be pulled off). The teams were all lined up and Kouga's team was to be on offense first. Unbeknownst to them, they were both thinking the same thought, 'Let the games begin!'

----After the football game----

Inuyasha smirked as everyone headed back to the cafeteria for dinner. His team had, of course, won. Ashi and Kanrakuchou skipped up ahead of him and seemed to be very proud of their accomplishments in their game. He heard Kouga growl behind him and he looked out of the corner of his eyes at him. He was holding an ice pack on his head and limping. He laughed as he remembered how Kanrakuchou had tackled him. Kouga had been hurt so badly that he had to sit out the rest of the game and Sesshomaru took his place. His team got a 5-yard penalty for the tackle, but to Inuyasha, it was worth it. He looked to his other side and saw Sesshomaru with a deep scowl on his face. Ashi had pulled his fluffy thing instead of his flag and he had tripped. He still played the rest of the game, but he didn't take the football after that.

They entered the cafeteria and uneventfully ate dinner. Inuyasha looked over and saw that, again, Miroku and Kagome were deep in hushed conversation. Inuyasha growled but went back to his food, every once in a while sending death glares that went unnoticed.

----Kagome's POV----

Once they got to the cafeteria, Kagome went over to Miroku and sat next to him. She had to win this bet. There was no way in hell that she was going to sing a Britney Spears song!

"Hey Miroku!" she greeted. Miroku turned towards her.

"Why hello Kagome. To what do I owe this pleasure of your company?" he questioned with a sly grin.

"Well actually, I wanted to ask how you and Sango are getting along," she said.

"Forget about Sango and me, what about you and Inuyasha?" he said, waving away her previous question.

"No, really, I wanna know how you and Sango are," she said, a bit forcefully, pressing the 'record' button on her tape recorder hidden underneath the table. Miroku sighed.

"As you wish," he began, "I really don't know how it's going between us," he said truthfully as he glanced at Sango.

"Well what about that kiss you gave her?" pressed Kagome, "It meant something to you, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did...but I'm not so sure that Sango felt the same way," he sighed sadly.

"I'm pretty sure she felt exactly the same way," said Kagome with a knowing smirk. Miroku, however, looked doubtful.

"Are you sure?" Kagome eagerly nodded.

"Absolutely!" Miroku smiled.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, tell me about you and Inuyasha," urged Miroku, pressing the 'record' button on his tape recorder.

Kagome blushed. "Well, I don't know. We haven't really...done anything...we're just friends, I guess," Kagome said sadly.

"But what about Truth or Dare, when he gave you that kiss?" he questioned.

"I suppose he only did it to complete the dare," Kagome said, "But I kinda wish it meant something to him," she muttered.

"Ah, but it did mean something to him. He's just too embarrassed to admit it," Miroku said. "And besides, it meant something to you, right?"

"Well...yeah...but are you sure...?" she trailed off as Miroku eagerly nodded.

"Positive!"

----Later that night----

Sango had just gotten comfortable in her bed when a figure barged into her cabin. Wearily rubbing her eyes, she turned on the bedside lamp and looked at the intruder.

"Kagome, what are you doing?" she asked groggily. Kagome only smiled and jumped onto Sango's bed while shoving something in front of her face.

"I got it! I win the bet!" Kagome exclaimed happily.

"Got what? What are you talking about?" Sango asked.

"I got evidence that the kiss meant something to Miroku!" Kagome exclaimed causing Sango's eyes to go wide.

"No way! Let's hear it!" she demanded, not believing Kagome had won the bet so easily. Kagome pressed the 'rewind' button until she heard a click and then pressed 'play'.

"As you wish. I really don't know how it's going between us," Miroku's voice cut through the static.

"Well what about that kiss you gave her? It meant something to you, didn't it?" they heard Kagome's voice respond.

"Yes, it did...but I'm not so sure that Sango felt the same way," came Miroku's saddened voice. Kagome quickly pressed 'stop' and smiled enthusiastically.

"See!? I win, I win, I win!" exclaimed Kagome dropping the tape recorder on the bed. Sango narrowed her eyes and pressed the 'play' button to hear the rest of the conversation.

"I'm pretty sure she felt exactly the same way," Kagome's voice came on. Kagome widened her eyes and grabbed for the tape recorder but Sango smirked and ran into the bathroom, locking the door. She turned up the volume loud enough so Kagome could hear as well.

"Are you sure?" Miroku's voice came on with skepticism etched in his voice.

"Absolutely!" Sango was about to press the 'stop' button, when to her surprise, the conversation continued.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, tell me about you and Inuyasha," Miroku's voice urged.

"Well, I don't know. We haven't really...done anything...we're just friends, I guess."

"But what about Truth or Dare, when he gave you that kiss?"

"I suppose he only did it to complete the dare, but I kinda wish it meant something to him."

"Ah, but it did mean something to him. He's just too embarrassed to admit it. And besides, it meant something to you, right?"

"Well...yeah...but are you sure...?"

"Positive!" The tape cut off and Sango pressed 'stop'. Smirking, she peeked her head out the door to see Kagome on her bed desperately to hide her blush. Apparently, she didn't notice Sango because she didn't look up.

"You like Inuyasha," Sango said in a sing-song voice. Kagome looked up, eyes wide with horror. She flew to Sango and grabbed her ankles, bowing repeatedly.

"Please don't tell him, please!?" Kagome begged.

"Oh, I don't know, since I have proof, it might make it interesting," Sango said with a mock argumentive voice.

"Oh, what if...What if I don't make you sing Britney Spears!?" she bribed. Sango looked down at her and smirked.

"Deal," she said, ending with a maniacal laugh.

----Elsewhere----

"Pst, Inuyasha!" Miroku called into Inuyasha's open window. His only response was Inuyasha rolling over onto his other side. "Inuyasha!" he said a little louder. Still nothing. "Inuyasha!!" he screamed while throwing a rather large rock at his friend's head. It landed with a loud thump and a rather loud string of curses.

"Damnit, Miroku, what do you want!?" Inuyasha asked, sitting up and glaring at his friend.

"I win the bet!" he proclaimed. Inuyasha sneered.

"Where's your evidence?" he argued.

"Right here," Miroku said, sticking the tape recorder through the open window. Inuyasha snatched it and pressed 'play'. Nothing played.

"What is this, some kind of joke?" he asked Miroku who was climbing through the window.

"You have to rewind it, Inuyasha," Miroku explained, struggling to pull himself through the small window. Inuyasha scowled and rewound it. He then pressed 'play' again causing 2 voice to cut through the static.

"Well, I don't know. We haven't really...done anything...we're just friends, I guess," he heard Kagome's voice first.

"But what about Truth or Dare, when he gave you that kiss?" Miroku's voice questioned.

"I suppose he only did it to complete the dare, but I kinda wish it meant something to him."

"Ah, but it did mean something to him. He's just too embarrassed to admit it. And besides, it meant something to you, right?"

"Well...yeah...but are you sure...?"

"Positive!" he heard the last comment on the tape as it stopped. He looked over at Miroku, intending to ask him how he got it so easily, but he stopped and laughed at the sight that met his eyes. Miroku was stuck in the window, one leg on each side, his back pressed against the top of the window and his head tilted at an odd angle.

"Inuyasha, help! I'm stuck!" he said as he frantically began trying to push his body through either side.

"Only if I'm allowed to talk for a week," he said, remembering the stakes of their bet.

"Anything, just get me out!" he replied. Inuyasha walked over and began pulling one of Miroku's arms and one of his legs.

"Ow! That hurts!" Miroku complained.

"Do you want out or not?" Inuyasha retorted, still tugging on Miroku's limbs.

"Yes," Miroku sighed. Inuyasha gave one final tug and Miroku came tumbling through the window and landed on top of Inuyasha who immediately pushed him off.

"Why didn't you use the door?" asked Inuyasha as he wiped imaginary dust off his clothes.

"The door's locked," explained Miroku. Inuyasha looked over at his door and quirked an eyebrow.

"No it's not," he said, pointing to the unlocked door handle.

"Then it's stuck," Miroku said. Inuyasha went over to the door and turned the knob, opening it with ease. He looked outside once and looked back at Miroku like he was crazy.

"I don't think it's stuck," Inuyasha said as he closed the door. Miroku went over to the door and tried turning the knob, but it didn't budge.

"Then how come I can't open it?" Miroku wondered out loud. Inuyasha sighed and walked over. He turned the handle again and it opened.

"You were turning it the wrong way," he said. Miroku looked shocked. "Now go to bed, I want some sleep," Inuyasha said, pushing his friend out of his cabin and closing the door. He then flopped down on the bed and instantly fell asleep.

AN: Well, I'd say this a pretty long chapter! 15 pages! Almost 5,000 words!! You better review! I had a lot of writer's block on this chapter, so reviews are appreciated, if only just to tell me that you're glad I finally made my retard story have at least one long chapter! Hehe, onto Reviewer Responses!

**Akiraton-** Well thanks for reading my story! and you reviewed every single chapter too! O.o...wow! tank ya so much!

**Xessive**- ...well at least you reviewed...even if you didn't really say anything. Review again anyway!

Well that's it, but guess what? ONLY 2 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL I HAVE 50!!! hehe, if I get 2 or more reviews I'm going to be...ecstatic is the only word I can think of! Now, you see that button down there, in the bottom left corner? It's calling your name! It's going, "Review, Review, Review, Review." ::button starts chanting 'review' like a broken record:: ::kyuuka kicks it:: Stupid tape recorder...I mean, button!! Hehe, guess I should get going now! ::kyuuka hops on motorcycle and drives away, a crash is heard 10 seconds later:: stupid motorcycle...I knew I should've learned how to drive one first! ::sirens:: uh-oh, coppers! run away!! ::runs away::


	15. Birthday Bash

AN: HIYA! Man, it feels good to be back! My computer's not quite fixed, but I can now sign in to on the family computer, so the moment I figured that out (10 minutes ago), I started work on my next chapter! Sorry for the long wait, people!! By the way, I reached 50 reviews!! YAY!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: All right, Hinote and Kasai haven't done the disclaimer for a while, so my little evil imaginary muses have decided to do it!  
Kasai: Yeah, we had a really long vacation...  
Hinote: But it started to get boring.  
Kazix: Awwww, you guys missed me!  
Kasai: No, we missed your Mountain Dew  
Hinote: And ramen, don't forget the ramen.  
Kazix: ::sweat drops:: Just do the disclaimer:  
Kasai: Kazix does not own Inuyasha and company  
Hinote: And she doesn't own this Mountain Dew and ramen! ::runs away with Kaz's food::  
Kazix: HEY!

Last Chapter:

"I don't think it's stuck," Inuyasha said as he closed the door. Miroku went over to the door and tried turning the knob, but it didn't budge.

"Then how come I can't open it?" Miroku wondered out loud. Inuyasha sighed and walked over. He turned the handle again and it opened.

"You were turning it the wrong way," he said. Miroku looked shocked. "Now go to bed, I want some sleep," Inuyasha said, pushing his friend out of his cabin and closing the door. He then flopped down on the bed and instantly fell asleep.

_**Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts**_

**Chapter 15: Birthday Bash**

Inuyasha fearfully ran through the forest, looking behind him every once in a while as echoing strings of laughter invaded his ears. He reached a river and looked down into the water at his human reflection. He was stuck this way forever. The hollow laughter grew louder and louder, invading his senses and mind, and confusing his thoughts. He sunk to his knees in agony, his hands plastered to his ears to keep out the dreaded laughing. Suddenly, two small shadowy figures appeared on the opposite shore of the river.

"Stay back!" he commanded, fear evident in his shaky voice. The figures ignored his plea and instead began walking slowly across the top of the water to him. "Leave me alone!" he shouted in desperation. The figures finally reached him and their anonymity was betrayed as he recognized them as the only two people in the world that could frighten him this much. "Kanrakuchou...Ashi..." he whispered as they grinned evilly.

"Oh Inuyasha," Ashi whispered menacingly, "Inuyaaaaashaaaaa...Inuyasha! INUYASHA!" she shouted, as Inuyasha's vision faded to black.

"INUYASHA!" Ashi shouted into Inuyasha's ear as she stood next to his bed. His nose twitched in response and he began mumbling. Ashi turned to Kanrakuchou who had grown very bored over the past ten minutes and had preoccupied himself with reading a book he found. "Kanrakuchou," she said, taking the book from him. Kanrakuchou looked up with a sad expression, but grinned evilly as Ashi nodded at him. He pulled a marker from his pocket and jumped on Inuyasha's torso as he uncapped it. Snickering lightly as he worked, he began drawing on Inuyasha. When he finished, he capped the marker again and smiled, obviously pleased with his work.

"Kitty," he announced. Ashi looked approvingly at the whiskers and random stripes drawn on Inuyasha's face and arms.

"Very good," she said. She then leaned in close to his ears and sucked in a deep breath. "INUYASHAAAAAAAAA!!" she yelled as loud as she could. She watched as Inuyasha shot straight up in bed, still entangled in his covers.

"WHAT!" he demanded as he sent a death glare to Ashi.

"It's my birthday!" she said pleasantly.

"Feh, and why should I care?"

"Because if you don't care, then I guess you don't care about being a hanyou again either," she said turning around.

"No, wait, I care, I care!" he said hurriedly, latching on to her legs as he fell out of bed. "Just make me normal again!" Ashi looked over to Kanrakuchou and they nodded in agreement. Kanrakuchou busied himself by taking off the spell on Inuyasha's ears while Ashi started toward Inuyasha's eyes, much to his displeasure. "No, what are you doing?" he exclaimed in surprise as he tried backing away.

"Will you hold still so I can take out those contacts?" she asked irritably as she finally managed to get both of them out. Ashi then did a bit of magic to make Inuyasha's claws grow back.

"There, all better," Ashi exclaimed.

"But what about my hair?" Inuyasha asked in a pouty voice.

"Oh yeah," Kanrakuchou said as he pulled out a spray bottle seemingly out of thin air. He began spraying the substance in Inuyasha's hair and soon it was the shiny silver we all know and love.

"Yay!" Inuyasha shouted uncharacteristically as he began running his fingers through his hair. Ashi took this moment to jump on top of his head and start pulling on his ears.

"Now, I want pixie stix, Mountain Dew, chocolate cake, ice cream, pixie stix, toys, pixie stix, candy, pixie stix, and uh...pixie stix!" she exclaimed joyously, pulling on his ears obnoxiously.

"AH! Fine, get off my head!" Inuyasha exclaimed, trying to get her off to no avail. "Kanrakuchou, do something!" he demanded. Kanrakuchou sighed and threw the book he had been reading at Ashi's head.

"Ashi, how is Yash gonna hear your demands if you keep pulling on his ears like that?" Kanrakuchou asked the prone figure of Ashi on the floor.

"Right...demands...pixie stix," she mumbled incoherently as she tried to get her brain back on track. Inuyasha stared blankly at Ashi before turning his attention to Kanrakuchou.

"It's really her birthday?"

"Yep, so you'll need to get everything she wants," Kanrakuchou replied with an evil grin. He had, of course, convinced Ashi to add some of his own demands as well. They were going to be having waffles, that was for sure.

"Everything?" Inuyasha repeated.

"Yep, everything. So you better get to it," he added as Ashi began to get up.

"And don't forget the pixie stix!" she called as Kanrakuchou pulled her out of Inuyasha's cabin.

"Don't forget the pixie stix," Inuyasha mocked in a little kid voice. "Feh!" He quickly got dressed and headed to the cafeteria, realizing he was the last one to arrive. There was excited chatter in the cafeteria as he sat down and Ashi and Kanrakuchou were talking animatedly to Myouga. After a while, Myouga shooed them away and stood up in front of the leaders and children.

"It has come to my attention that there is a birthday today," he said as everyone quieted down. "So we will have a party. I understand Inuyasha is in charge of the food, Kagome and Sango are in charge of the decorations and Miroku is in charge of the music, correct?"

There was an audible groan from the four leaders as Myouga named them. Obviously Ashi had not only convinced Inuyasha to do her bidding, but Kagome, Sango, and Miroku as well. "It's settled. While those four leaders are setting up, we will play party games outside. Ok, let's go," he said, directing everyone but the four leaders out of the cafeteria.

Once everyone had left, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha stood in the cafeteria quietly, all thinking of how they got pulled into Ashi's party staff. "Well, we better get to decorating, Sango," Kagome said with forced cheer. They went to a closet in the far back of the cafeteria and began digging around for decorations while Miroku went to his cabin to collect his CDs and Inuyasha went to the kitchen to look for party food.

- - - -Kagome and Sango- - - -

They entered the storeroom and flicked on a light switch, amazed at how much dust had accumulated over the years. They began digging through the boxes, becoming giddy as they found all sorts of strange things.

"Hey Kagome, look at this," Sango said with a grin as she pulled out a fluffy thing that looked very much like Sesshomaru's fluffy thing. She flung it around her shoulders like a scarf and grinned more. "No wonder Sesshomaru likes that thing so much! It's so comfortable!"

"That's nothing, look at this," Kagome said, pulling out a gaudy pink party dress with sparkles and glitter all over it. "I can understand why this was hidden away," she said with a laugh as she tossed it we use these?" Sango asked, pulling out a bunch of silver tinsel strung together. Kagome examined it carefully.

"Yeah, that should be fine," she said, pulling out a sign saying "Congratulations, it's a boy!" "Hehe, let's use this!" she said, holding it up to show Sango.

"Ashi might kill us, but that's hilarious!" Sango agreed. They continued looking through the boxes until they found everything they needed.

- - - -Miroku- - - -

After collecting all his CDs, Miroku decided he needed more. He crept into Inuyasha's cabin and found his CD stash quickly. "Here we go," he said aloud to himself, "Let's see what Inuyasha has." He picked up the CD on the top of the stack and read the cover.

"Britney Spears?!" he said incredulously. He shook his head and tossed that CD aside before moving to the next CD. "Sailor Moon?" He tossed that one aside as well, reading the next CD. "Jessica Simpson!? Ok, Inuyasha's got head trauma or something," he said, flinging all the CDs aside and leaving the cabin. "I think I'm scarred for life," he mumbled.

He made his way to Kagome's cabin next, hoping she had a better taste in music than Inuyasha. He was quite pleased with her taste in music as he went through it. "Linkin Park...Papa Roach...Armor For and Cambria...These will do. These will do quite nicely," he said, picking up the stack and heading to Sango's cabin.

He found a stack of CDs similar to Kagome's and decided to take Sango's CDs as well. He dropped them off in the cafeteria, not having any more room to carry any more CDs. "I wonder if Myouga has any good CDs," he mumbled as he headed out that way. Upon arriving, he found CDs similar to Inuyasha's and gagged with disgust. Deciding he wouldn't find any other good CDs, he found a CD player and set it up in the cafeteria.

- - - -Inuyasha- - - -

"Get some food, Inuyasha. I want pixie stix, Inuyasha. Blah, blah, blah, Inuyasha," Inuyasha said in a falsetto voice. He was rummaging through the kitchen, trying to find Ashi's requested items without any luck. He knew he had to find the food, though, or Ashi would be planning his funeral. He reached the freezer and opened it, making sure it stayed open, and entered the cold space. He found a couple 2-liters of Mountain Dew and some boxes of frozen waffles and a couple cartons of ice cream and left the small space.

"Now I need pixie stix...chocolate cake...and some other candy," he mumbled to himself as he deposited the food items on the counter. He found a pantry and opened it up, finding a bag of pixie stix and assorted candies and a box of cake mix. "Am I supposed to make the cake?" he wondered nervously. He set all the food on the counter and stared at the instructions on the box of cake mix.

"Blah blah blah, get a pan, blah blah...Well this seems easy enough I guess," he said as he searched for the necessary items to bake the cake. He decided to make things interesting, so he took a flowered apron off a hook on the wall and a chef's hat and put them on. He laughed at himself, but decided that no one would see him, so he didn't take them off. He began baking the cake while humming a light, catchy tune, occasionally singing the words when he knew them.

- - - -Everyone else- - - -

The children stood excitedly around a piñata hanging from a tree while Myouga held a bat and blindfold in his hands. "Ok, we're going to start off this game with the birthday girl, of course," Myouga began, "So, Ashi, come forward and hold this bat." Ashi did as instructed, but as soon as she got hold of the bat, she ran away from the group laughing maniacally. "Ashi! Come back and put this blindfold on!" Myouga yelled after her as the group began to chase her. When they were a safe distance away, she ran back to the piñata and began hitting it wildly.

"Ashi!" Kanrakuchou groaned as the piñata burst open and candy fell to the ground, "I thought you said I could have a turn too."

"Oh yeah, forgot," she said distractedly as she began scouring the ground and sorting through the candy. "There's no pixie stix!" she yelled.

"Really?" Kanrakuchou asked. "Well maybe Inuyasha found some by now. Let's go back to the cafeteria," he suggested as he and Ashi made their way back to the cafeteria. The rest of the children and leaders began digging through the candy, collecting as much as they could.

As Ashi and Kanrakuchou entered the cafeteria, they saw that Sango and Kagome were almost done decorating, but both were dressed strangely with things long gone out of style. Miroku was just finishing up setting up the music area, but Inuyasha was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe he's in the kitchen," Kanrakuchou shrugged.

"Indeed," Ashi said, sprinting to the kitchen door. Kanrakuchou follower after her and they both entered the kitchen at the same time. They stared with wide eyes at the sight before them before bursting out in raucous laughter.

Inuyasha was standing on a chair, wearing a pink flowered apron and a bit white chef's hat, loudly singing "It's Raining Men" into a wooden stirring spoon. When he caught sight of the two children, Inuyasha abruptly dropped the spoon and stopped singing, looking like a deer in headlights.

"Wh-What are you doing here!?" he demanded finally, "I thought you were with Myouga!" The two children didn't answer because they were now on the floor, rolling around and clutching their stomachs. Tears sprang to their eyes as they continued to laugh, ignoring Inuyasha's protests.

When they finally regained their composure, they stood, small laughs still escaping their lips. "You...You...You were singing...!" Ashi managed to say.

"I-It's Raining...MEN!" Kanrakuchou continued, a new burst of laughter coming free.

"Th-The apron!"

"A-A-And the spoon!"

"And hat!"

"And the chair!"

"Ok, I get it!" Inuyasha yelled, his face a deep red. "If you utter a word of this to anyone else, you won't get any pixie stix or waffles!" he threatened. The two kids immediately developed serious, fearful expressions.

"You wouldn't," countered Ashi, glaring at the now smirking hanyou.

"Oh, but I would," Inuyasha said smugly, "So I suggest you leave so I can finish baking your cake."

"Baking?" Kanrakuchou asked, not helping the grin that spread across his face.

"Go!" Inuyasha yelled, and the two scampered out of the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. "Dumb kids," Inuyasha mumbled as he finished baking the cake.

- - - -Later- - - -

After all the party decorations and food was done, the party commenced. Ashi and Kanrakuchou busied themselves by happily eating their pixie stix and waffles, now very much satisfied and unable to get the picture of Inuyasha singing out of their head. Miroku played all their favorite songs, for fear of some punishment should he play a song they didn't want to hear. It seemed everything was going great.

Sesshomaru entered the cafeteria quietly and looked around. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves at this party. A quick glance at a sign that read "Congratulations, it's a boy!" told him that someone had a baby. He didn't press the matter, uncaring of who the newborn child was. He would find out from Inuyasha later. But what interested him the most was a scarf around Sango's neck.

Sesshomaru made his way over to Sango and glared at her. "Where did you get that scarf?" he demanded.

Sango looked up innocently and answered, "Oh, do you like it?"

"If you are trying to look better than me, you should know that you shall fail miserably!" he said, the anger rising in his voice.

"What? What are you-"

"Silence, fool! I shall be master of the fluffiness!" he said, grabbing Sango's scarf and putting it around his own neck before storming off.

Sango glanced at Kagome with a confused expression on her face. "Did Sesshomaru just get jealous over my scarf?" she asked Kagome.

"I...I don't know...I think so," Kagome answered just as confusedly. "Do you think he's drunk?"

"I doubt Sesshomaru could ever be drunk," Sango said, staring at where Sesshomaru had disappeared into the crowd. "But I never want to experience that again."

"Agreed," said Kagome, taking a sip of her soda.

- - - -Even Later- - - -

As the children began to get tired, Myouga sent them off to their cabins. The leaders soon followed suit, exhausted from the day's effort. The decorations had been left up, but most of the food had been put away and Miroku returned the CDs to their rightful owner, still appalled at Inuyasha's choice in music. He had to remind himself to convert Inuyasha's tastes to something more tasteful.

AN: Okay, that's all for today. Sorry it's short. I did this all in one sitting and I really didn't want to wait to update, since I figured you guys had been waiting long enough. I'm not really happy with the way it turned out, but hopefully I'll get back to the main plot in the next couple chapters. All right, time for reviewer responses!

**Kags- **Well thank ya, and thanks for reviewing!

**karma-punk-** HAHAHA, I can finally sign in, kit! Happy with evilness? Hehe.

**Eric3D2B**- Yep, evil kids make Naraku seem like a goody-goody. Hehe, computer's still not fixed, but I spose this is ok. Thanks for reviewing!

**skysong**- Yeah, I hate Kikyou too. Hehe, but she's dead now. BWAHAHAHAHAHA. And I'm sorry, but since my computer's broken, I can't send a pic of Okibi, even if I could find it. Thanks for reviewing!

**butterflygurl-** HAHA! I'd have to say that'd be a hilarious idea...if my friends wouldn't kill me if I did it. Sorry, no fluff for Ashi and Kanrakuchou! But thanks for reviewing!

**Xessive-** ::laughs maniacally:: Told ya you should've written your story, mage. Now you're grounded. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Review again!

**Serenity-** Yay, I get a parade! Me likey being the Mighty Queen of Stuff. Hehe, thanks for reviewing!

**Akiraton-** Yes, they is evil, is they not? But that's good! Thanks for reviewing!

All right, folks, that's all. Thanks for not leaving me! Please review again, thank ya!! Ja ne!

-Kaz


End file.
